Cowher

The great thing about internet rumors is that they can be put to bed as quickly as they are thrown to the masses. Such is the case with the "Bill Cowher to coach Penn State" nugget from this afternoon. "Put that to rest", said Cowher to the PG's Ed Bouchette when asked about the speculation. Says the PG: Cowher, who resigned as Steelers coach after the 2006 season and moved to Raleigh, said he and his wife, Kaye, are building a new house on a golf course two miles from their current one, which is for sale. He said they decided the house they bought in fall 2005 was too big for them and their youngest daughter and they will downsize."My for-sale sign went up after the last NFL job was filled to avoid speculation," Cowher said with a laugh. Ahh, the old "my house is too big" dilemma. We've

  The Bus has come out of the garage, and is taking some heavy shots as his former coach. Jerome Bettis, former Steelers running back and future Hall of Famer, is about to release a book about his career - “The Bus: My Life in and Out of a Helmet,” and in the book there are some interesting tidbits about his playing days under now former head coach Bill Cowher. Bettis was open about his disagreements with Cowher, and it seems like his biggest miff came back in 2003 when he was replaced by then smaller, faster back Amos Zereoue. The book states: “I showed up at camp thinking it was going to be an open competition, but in reality, the choice had already been made. … When Coach made the decision, he said it was based on a gut feeling. A gut feeling? I had something to prove. But it’s hard to prove something if you’re not given a fair shake.” To not much of a surprise, Cowher had no comments about the writings of the Bus. There was more though to

As we had right here on NFLGridironGab over a week ago, the rumor mill in regard to Bill Cowher has already started churning again, this time with a report that the former Steelers coach has already spoken to at least three teams about becoming their head coach in 2008. ProFootballTalk.com says that the three teams that Cowher reportedly spoke to where the Browns, Redskins and Panthers. The source told the site as well that in order to come to one of those teams, Cowher wants full control, which is by no means a surprise. The site even goes on to say that Cowher has gone so far as to starting the task of “discreetly” putting together a lineup of those that he would want with him when he gets hired. The list of those people around him would include: current Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert, Steelers business operations coordinator Omar Khan, Chiefs executive vice president and COO Denny Thum, and Saints vice president of football administration Russ B

It’s no secret that a number of teams around the National Football League are going to covet former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher in 2008. Cowher, currently enjoying time off with his family, is still a young man, and reports say that there is no doubt that Cowher will return to the National Football League at some point, sooner than later, and coach anywhere from 8-15 years. He won a Super Bowl with the Steelers in 2005, and simply needed a break. It was as simple as that.With that said, the Washington Times on Friday began what is sure to be a hot topic for the 2007 season. Where will Bill Cowher coach in 2008? One team that will have their eyes on him according to the paper is the Washington Redskins, who may finally part ways with Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs if they have another down year, and give control of the team to Cowher. Gibbs will be 67 years old, and with one year left on his contract, may feel its time to finally walk away for good, and he could easily give con

Congrats to Mike V. of Greensburg, who wins the Kendrell Bell Autographed Shirt courtesy of Fox Sports 970 AM from last week's email contest. Another great giveaway this week...one lucky winner will receive this set of four ROOKIE CARDS, each graded a 10 by BECKETT! You will receive a 1989 Score Rod Woodson, a 1992 Pro Set Bill Cowher, a 1993 Topps Jerome Bettis, and a 2005 Upper Deck Sidney Crosby! For those of you who are unfamiliar, the rules are easy...All you have to do is send your interesting sports, entertainment, and odd news and tips to mondesishouse@gmail.com. I will randomly choose one winner to receive this week's prize. This week's contest is sponsored by Only Pittsburgh Auctions. This week, over 900 lots of autographed memorabilia and collectibles, including everything from a basketball signed by Jordan and Bird to a Britney Spears Autographed Beanie Baby!

A new year and a new look for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who kicked off their first mini-camp over the weekend. One fact that came out to the media that may have been a bit of a shock was from QB Ben Roethlisberger, who told the media that he and former coach Bill Cowher are not exactly on each other’s Christmas card list. “Our relationship wasn’t great because he was here before I got here and I was just a young kid,” Roethlisberger said Friday to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There was tension between the two for the three seasons in which Cowher coached the QB. Cowher often talked about keeping Big Ben in line with the plays called, while Ben was the type of QB who liked to make things happen, running around in and out of the pocket to try and make a big play. That style though, despite what Cowher may say or think, is exactly what took the Steelers to the Super Bowl title two seasons ago. Big Ben made huge plays in all four playoff games, and it was his ability

The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced a press conference for 3 PM on Friday afternoon to announce the resignation of their head coach, Bill Cowher. Cowher has been the Steelers head coach for the past 15 seasons. Since 1969, the Steelers have had the most stable coaching position in the NFL having had only two coaches, Chuck Knoll (1969-1991) and Bill Cowher (1992-2007). Cowher’s career record was 161-99-1 in his fifteen seasons. He won last years Super Bowl in Detroit with the Steelers. Most media outlets are speculating the reason for Cowher leaving the game is to spend more time with his family. He had a built a house in Raleigh, NC and his wife and daughter have been living there for the season. Cowher is supposed to be working this weekend for one of the networks during the playoffs. This was something he had set up before announcing his decision. Cowher will not be able to coach in the NFL next season as he retires with one year left on his contract. I don’t think he

I'm not a big fan of the Tuesday Cowher Press Conferences...never have been, actually. The only useful information that comes out are the injuries, such as "Troy with a foot", or "Sean with a toe". But what went on at today's circus disguised as a dispersal of information and answers is a major reason why. Mr. Bill, like many NFL coaches, is too important for his own good. That's why he's where he is. Like Bill Parcells, or Brian Billick, or in baseball, Tony LaRussa, he has a healthy ego. But the problem is that he has still yet to harness when to turn that ego on and off. During an emotional football game, displaying that self-importance is not only fine, it's necessary. But when we're two days removed from a game in which he wasn't even emotional in, he picks now to be Mr. Difficult with the media. He treats reporters like they are beneath him...rungs beneath him. To steal a line from the classic Bill Murray film What About Bob, "he's so far above us, we're like ropes on th

I watched three football games this weekend: Pitt at UConn, San Diego at Cincy, and the Steelers-Saints game. If I ever saw a frightening display of the state of defense at the two highest levels of football, it was this trifecta. I'll recap in a convenient, three-part series.ACT THREE: SAINTS AT STEELERSBill Cowher must have really enjoyed the experience being on the cover of NFL Head Coach this season. So much that he decided to coach like he was playing a video game in 2006. Counting today's 38, the Steelers have averaged 30.8 points in their last five games, going back to the Kansas City "Passion Party" game. With that in mind, the concept of defense appears to have been totally abandoned by our favorite Craftonite. This team is turning into the reincarnation of the 1999 Rams: we won't stop you, but you can't stop us.Think about some of the things that happened in today's game; if you didn't know the final score, and I'd drop these nuggets of information on you, do you real

As reader "Soup" points out in the comments section, was ESPN's DJ Gallo inspired by the Mondesi-created "Cowher Statue" in Monday's ESPN Page 2 wrapup? Remember Freddie "Fred Ex" Mitchell, the mouthy wide receiver for the Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles? Wonder what he's up to? Would you guess "just fired for hitting on girls as a substitute high school teacher?" This dude is way too excited to get his picture taken with Freddie MitchellFirst we had Firejoemorgan. Now, through the wonders of FoxSports Blogs, I present The Bill Simmons Hater The resemblance? Uncanny.Peter King Miami Dolphins Fine Fifteen Watch: This week, the Fightin' Sabans are up to #12. And that 1-6 start is just a faint memory. Don't forget to read all seven pages of this week's drivel disguised as a football column. By the end, you're reading stuff like "I can't get past the Wednesday New York Times crossword. Usually I can't finish that one either. Shameful admission." and "Witnessed the most insane Star

I hear a lot of Bill Cowher bashing these days. Of course, I should expect just as much after that lifeless performance Sunday at Baltimore, one of the worst and least-inspired in the Cowher Era. Critics of the bashers will say "you can't pin all the blame on Cowher" and "he just won the Super Bowl, get off his back". True and true. I think Cowher is one of the greatest coaches of all time and the Steelers are very lucky to have had his service all these years. I also agree that you cannot pin all the blame on Cowher; there's certainly enough to go around with this team. Game-time emotion has been a point of issue with Cowher this year, and I won't argue that he's been relatively sedated by his standards. But that is far down the list of legitimate mistakes Cowher has made this season. Cowher pushed all the right buttons in 2005, but 2006 has been a completely different story. Here are five key decisions Bill and the Steelers' brass made that I think we can all second guess at thi

Steelers coverage on Mondesi's House has been sparse this week, so I'll try to get up to speed on all the pressing issues in one neat, tidy post. Joey Porter fined $10,000 for his "derogatory comment" about Kellen WinslowThere's a few things we can say with confidence:1. Joey Porter is a moron2. Kellen Winslow is also a moron3. If you're a public figure, don't call anyone a name when microphones and/or cameras are running4. We live in a politically correct world.Did Joey's comments really offend any gay people? Maybe a few, but for the most part, I doubt it. I'm sure they just considered the source. Should he act so surpised when he gets fined? Well, maybe you haven't noticed, but #55 is a bit of a "look-at-me" showman. So of course he will flip out after being docked 10 large. Apparently he never heard of John Rocker, Michael "Middle Finger" Vick, or anyone else that had a public incident that caused everyone to cringe. The cooler reaction would've been like Randy Moss a few

At long last, Bill Cowher will grant the Steelers and the general public with his decision on Monday. For the man who had to live with his family in North Carolina, there's now a report that it's not improbable for Mr. Bill to end up in Miami, rejoining coordinators Mike Mularkey and Dom Capers. Considering Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga said yesterday, "There's only one thing I want to do, is win; I don't care what it takes, what it costs, or what's involved", he would probably pony up the dough needed to catch the eye of The Jaw.

The Bill Cowher Soap Opera took another turn Thursday, with the news that Mr. Bill is resigning on Friday, not Sunday, Tuesday, or next Monday, as previously reported. Hopefully, the 4th time will be the charm. While I will miss the one and only coach that gave me a Super Bowl win and countless years of playoff excitement, I think it's time to move on. In the wake of all the Nick Saban talk, I heard someone make a great point about moving forward as a Dolphin fan. Would you rather have a coach who wants to be there, or one who is forced to be there because of a contract? Did Cowher really impress you as a guy who enjoyed his job this season? Let's face it...the Dolphins were going backwards with Saban, and the Steelers went backwards even with Cowher in charge this year. I simply couldn't even imagine Cowher back in 2007. He seemed miserable from the opening kickoff, which came, ironically, against the Dolphins. For the first time I can remember, the team honestly seemed to tune C

A milestone: my first link from ESPN.com, regarding my take on the Cowher situationThanks also go out to the PG for my mention in their front-page Blog N Gold "Cahr" article The official Post-Gazette recap of today's events A nice piece on the coach from John Clayton. Don Banks thinks the Steelers' next coach is already on their payrollMichael Silver lists 8 reasons why Cowher is leaving. #1? The Rooneys don't pay.Pictures of Bill Cowher's house in North Carolina Reaction from around the country. I know you were all wondering what Vince Papale thought of the news.Bill Cowher's most valuable rookie cardThe PG asked the fans for their thoughts on the big newsThe Bill Cowher Appearance Improvement PageA vintage Mondesi piece: Cowher's Worst Decisions of 2006.

FOOTBALL:There's no tailgating at the Super Bowl this year. See, it's a good thing the Steelers didn't make it after all. Sean Salisbury, big pimpin' at XLI Another sign of the apolcalypse: John Clayton has a MySpace page. In between interviews to push his Hines Ward and JoePa donuts, Franco Harris gives us his thoughts on the Mike Tomlin hire. Here's an illustration of the Bill Cowher Coaching Family Tree. That Cowher name must go far on an assistant's resume. Minnesota's Pioneer Press asked their readers which coach will be more successful - Brad Childress or Mike Tomlin. The response was overwhelming. Brett Favre wants the Packers to trade for Randy Moss. Please make this happen. Charger Terrence Kiel, he of the codeine shipments, gets caught draining the dragon in public The NFL goes to the Oscars BASEBALL:The New York Yankees just can't quit Bernie Williams RANDOM FUN STUFF:Cold outside? Try on a Willy Warmer A follow up to yesterday's comic book covers link, here's a g

The great site Awful Announcing sends over the juicy nugget that Bill Cowher will be joining the CBS pregame show next season. Cowher will work alongside Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, Boomer Esiason, James Brown, and Charley Casserly while being mentioned for every available NFL job in 2008. Good thing Cowher won Super Bowl 40, for Esiason would surely remind him of his failure to close the deal on every possible occasion.

Good news, everyone! Seattle Seahawks fans can start complaining about the Super Bowl again! In a recent report from the AP, a New York prosecutor claims that there is an group of athletes that use the Internet to get steroids. Presumably while looking at pornography. The story implicates baseball player Gary Matthews, Jr., and a former Mr. Olympia (shock! horror!) among others. However,