The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Bill Cowher in January of 1992. Cowher was just 34 years old and tasked with replacing Chuck Noll. Noll held the record with four Super Bowl victories at the time and was the most successful coach in Pittsburgh’s long history. Older fans who could remember the pre-Noll Steelers were through with what they considered Noll’s antiquated coaching and were happy to move on. But, they faced the transition with some fear of returning to the bottom of the NFL.
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Former Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher is as well known for his chin as he is for his great coaching.
Cowher proved to be better than anyone could have expected. The Steelers, between 1992 and 1997, went 64-32 and made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. The Steelers went 5-6 during that period in the playoffs, including one win in four successive AFC Championship games. Cowher’s Steelers lost the big game in Super Bowl XXX, however. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and nearly being fired, Cowher closed his career with four more playoff appearances in six seasons, going 7-3, culminating with a win in Super Bowl XL.
The Dan Patrick Show / Peacock
Steelers' Bill Cowher joins Dan Patrick in discussing Deion Sanders's concept of an inner sanctum at the Hall of Fame.
Cowher was inducted into the Hall of Fame in August of 2021. He followed his predecessor, Noll, into the Hall of Fame after several years on the ballot. On Monday, he joined The Dan Patrick Show, and the venerable host broached the subject of Deion Sanders's concept of a special inner circle of Hall of Fame players. Dan Patrick asked Cowher what he thought of the idea.
“I think we all recognize there were some quality players and coaches in there that, you know, what they did was probably more than you did,” Cowher began. “But yet, I think what you did warranted contribution of being recognized as one of the best at what you did. Whose to measure what that criteria is to put you into that other element of it?”
The biggest flaw in Sanders’s argument is that the Hall of Fame voting is a mess. There is no transparency in the process. The Veteran’s Committee often seems to have no rhyme or reason for their selection criteria.
“I understand it. I didn’t go in as a first ballot," Cowher said. "Maybe there’s circumstances that don’t put you in there for first ballot. I know there’s a lot of media involved with it, and I wasn’t one of the most cordial guys at press conferences at times. At the same time, I feel very proud of the record that I had, and I will match it with a lot of the people that are in there.”
Cowher has transitioned his image away from the firebrand that graced the Steelers sidelines for a decade and a half. Younger fans did not witness his famous sideline tirades. The clenched fist that was Cowher’s face as the Steelers coach is a distant memory, thanks to his long-time gig as an NFL Today studio analyst.
"Listen, we all recognize Deion Sanders. First ballot,” Cowher concluded. “I think we all know the first ballot, and we all know the players that are in there. I think once we get in there and to say there's a first-class and a second class, I think that would be a disservice to the honor."
The former Steelers head coach probably knows the backlog of deserving Hall of Fame players and states the obvious flaw in the argument. If you have to wait to be inducted, Sanders and his ilk view a delayed induction as a sign you don’t belong. It cheapens the players, coaches, owners, and contributors who arrive later in the voting process.
Steelers Fans Should Be Furious With Hall Of Fame Selection Process
What about the players who arrive through the Veteran’s Committee? The NFL needs to tighten the process that allowed players like Joe Klecko to arrive in the Hall of Fame before LC Greenwood, Andy Russell, Ken Anderson, and Harvey Martin, to name a few. They have been waiting a long time to be inducted into a museum designed to recognize them that has been delinquent in doing so.
The people responsible for choosing who goes into the Hall of Fame are easily swayed by recency bias. An inner sanctum like Sanders proposes would probably exclude many all-time greats. Sacks did not become an official stat until 1982, and the NFL looked very different in the 1970s, never mind the preceding decades. Pre-1982 players could have their entire careers discounted through the prism of modern analytics.
Cowher was right on the mark with his comments. The museum in Canton can set up special exhibits to recognize players like Dick Butkus, Mel Blount, Joe Montana, and many others deserving of the honor. It is what the museum was designed to do.
Steelers.com
Steelers legends LC Greenwood (left), Mel Blount (middle), and "Mean" Joe Greene (right).
As far as a special place for the Hall of Fame within the Hall of Fame? Sports arguments across eras are supposed to be waged, but not won. There is no way to tell what period produced the best players, and hopefully, they won't try. Providing validation by engaging in this madness is just a group deciding that their arguments are correct. No thanks, now get off my lawn and take your recency bias with you.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you agree with Coach Cowher, or are you on Sanders's side of the argument? Please comment below, or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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