Bill Cowher had big shoes to fill when he took over as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach in 1992. However, he managed to carve out his own Hall of Fame legacy, upholding the standard. He didn’t do it alone, though. Cowher coached numerous phenomenal players. Some of them, like Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu, seemed to make Cowher a little more nervous due to their free-flowing play styles. It sounds like he had the perfect mindset to coach those players.
“When Josh Allen breaks the pocket, it was almost like when Ben used to break the pocket,” Cowher said Friday on The Dan Patrick Show. “It was like, ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ It’s street ball. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’s kind of buckle your seatbelt and it’s just like, ‘Oh my God, here he goes again. Just don’t be careless. Don’t be reckless.’
“And big plays will happen. Troy Polamalu, he’s supposed to be playing half the field, and I see him start to creep up to the line of scrimmage. I’m going, ‘Is he gonna drop or not? I don’t even know.’ You wonder what goes through your stomach, but I used to always say ‘Great players, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, you can’t harness greatness.'”
There are plenty of examples of what Cowher is talking about. Roethlisberger was famous for playing a version of backyard football. When plays broke down, Roethlisberger would escape the pocket and routinely create something out of nothing. As his coach, those moments had to rob Cowher of all his breath, until he saw Roethlisberger make a huge play.
Polamalu was much the same way. There would be times where it felt like Polamalu could anticipate what offenses’ next play would be, shutting it down before they even knew what was happening. That often meant he wouldn’t always be where he was supposed to be.
However, Polamalu was usually on the money with his adjustments, proving that Cowher was right to trust him. That’s part of what made Roethlisberger and Polamalu special. Cowher’s confidence in them is what helped them flourish.
Thanks to both of those players, the Steelers won not one but two Super Bowls. Cowher only got to be part of one of those championship teams, but he was surely instrumental in building the team up for the future.
Backyard ball and listening to your gut doesn’t always work, but they built Hall of Fame careers for Roethlisberger and Polamalu. There are other examples of that too. James Harrison didn’t really break out until Mike Tomlin was the Steelers’ head coach, but he clearly earned that same trust Cowher gave players. On his iconic pick-six in the Super Bowl, he was out of position, listening to his instincts.
That’s part of what separates good players from great players. That playmaking ability isn’t natural to everyone. It’s special, and Cowher was right to not coach it out of his players. If he had, the Steelers might be lacking a few Lombardi Trophies.
