Fire Bill Cowher Petition

[Seltzer]

I have been amazed at how fickle and fairweather a lot of our fan base is, and how convinced so many people that not only would Bill Cowher bring multiple Super Bowl Championships to the Panthers, they believe Bill Cowher far exceeds anything John Fox has to bring to the table.

Bill Cowher is a great coach in his own rite, but I for one believe John Fox has both the ability and the control of this team to get back and win a Super Bowl if we stay the course.

First off, I respect what Cowher has done as a coach, and winning a Super Bowl is an acheivement no one can take away. Cowher is certainly a top 10 coach over the past 25 years. Over the 15 years he coached the Steelers, he was 149-90 (.623 overall winning percentage). He won 9 division titles, and his teams made the playoffs 10 out of the 15 years he coached.

From a regular season perspective, Cowher's numbers are superior to Fox's numbers (70-57 .544 overall winning percentage). However, I think it is both important and accurate to note that the Steelers played in the same division with Bengals, Browns, and Houston Oilers (before they relocated to be the Tennesse Titans) during Cowher's tenure from 1992-2006 (the Titans were moved to the AFC South with the realignment in 2002). These teams were pretty badly ran during this time, which artificially inflated the numbers some. In many ways, I liken it to the San Diego Chargers now getting 4 gimme wins against the Raiders and Chiefs to help them win division title year after year.

Ultimately, however, the best coaches are the ones who produce in the playoffs, because that is what produces Super Bowl rings. Cowher is 21-19 (.571) vs. Fox at 5-3 (.600) winning percentage in the playoffs.

The biggest compliant against Cowher was his "mediocracy," the same compliant I hear getting thrown around here so much. And there was some validity to the arguement. Cowher was good at getting to the playoffs, not winning in them for the longest time.

In fact, after the 2002 Season, disgruntled Steelers fans started an online petition that generated thousands of signatures to get rid of Cowher. The main compliants were mediocracy and Cowher sticking with Kordell Stewart at QB for too long (sound like anyone we know...)

The compliants reached a fevered pitch after Cowher received a contract extension in 2004...

PITTSBURGH (July 26, 2004) -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher signed a two-year contract extension that runs through 2007 -- the second time since 2001 he has agreed to a new deal after his team missed the playoffs the preceding season.

Check out a few of the comments... If you changed some of the names around it could easily pass as one of the threads on the Huddle.

http://www.gopetition.com/msg.php?msgid=73192&isearch=

Starts off with some compliants...

Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by Tim on Jan 25, 2005 05:24:15 GMT

Christ, two more years of mediocracy??? Are you content with that?? I've been a steelers fan since birth and I'm sure you'll say you are also. But unlike you I know when there is a problem and I do not have blind faith in a person who has done nothing for my team. 15 wins was great but where did he take us after that. Nowhere, he lost to a superior coach again. Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by Mark in Carnegie on Jan 25, 2005 09:18:14 GMT

Cowher is choker!! He can't prep his team for the big games! It's a disgrace Cowher teams are batting only .200 in AFC Championships.

The Rooneys won't get rid of him though cause he (mostly) has winning seasons and at least gets the to the dance most years. Too bad he leaves the Rooneys, and Stiller Fans as wall flowers at the dance!!

We'll there's always next year!!Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by rj on Jan 25, 2005 18:13:30 GMT

amen brother, fire bill cowher, he cannot win the big game... how much longer does the steel city have to endure the let downs

Before a Steelers fan steps in with the voice of reason...

Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by PittSteel69 on Apr 28, 2005 22:39:29 GMT

The last reply was on 1/25 so I have no idea if anyone is even checking this, however, I have a comment ... You folks are all idiots. Bill Cowher has proven himself time and time again, keeping each team competitive. Granted, he does have a tendancy to become complacent in the big game, but all in all, he is the only reason that you all have a chance to cheer each season. Someone mentioned all the talent on the team ... how do you think it got there? Personally, I would rather be disappointed and come close each year than to have myself a Cleveland year and be mathmatically out before the beginning of November. Trust me when I say, that is what we will be looking at if he goes. Look at this years draft,we are sitting pretty and have some outstanding players that will be here for years to come. Remember one other thing too ... all those coaches who have multiple SuperBowl wins had the luxury of being able to throw big bucks for the high profile players (Dallas is the perfect example) Where are they now ... they haven't had a truly descent run since that moron Switzer took Jimmie's team to the Bowl. Remember, anyone can win when you overstretch yourself into decades beyond. They have no money left. It wouldn't surprise me if Dallas is still paying Michael Irvin money. BILL COWHER does it every year with extremely tight purse strings. He is and always will be "The Man" One last thing ... last time I checked, the players on the field are the one's playing the game and executing the plan. Who really lost those games? O'Donnell throws an ill advised pick ... Roethlisberger (a rookie to boot) throws three ... did Bill do that or the guys on the field. A coach can only do so much ... after that, it's up to those who play the game.

Definitely some worthwhile food for thought, and it strengthens my belief Jerry Richardson is going down the right path, at least for the next year.

What would have become of the Steelers if they hadn't have kept the course with Bill Cowher? His best season was an 8-8 affair in his 14th Season in which they snuck into the playoffs before going on a tear and winning the Super Bowl.

None of us know what the final book on Fox will be, but if this organization wants to truly be like the Steelers (who by the way have 6 Rings), we need to stay the course with a coach who the players and management still believe in.

I completely understand being frustrated with Fox, but completely giving up on the guy makes about as much sense as giving up on Cowher in 2002 would have made.

[rico6]

Wow you did all this?

In Before inevitable lock

[PhillyB]

i don't entirely agree with your point, but it's extremely well presented. i do think the red-with-rage fox haters would do well to read this.

[Lout]

Amen. Great post.

[PntherPryd]

first, rep.

second, what the collective thinks does not matter. the decisions are not made on this board any more than they were made on that steeler board years ago. an NFL team discussion forum is simply a way to vent and this board is no different than others.

I think it is a mistake to lump the "Fire Fox" contingent in with the "Hire Cowher" contingent just like it is to lump the haters in with the realists. Fox hasn't gotten the job done in the year when everything was in place. This was supposed to be the year. This is why we traded draft picks, this is why we wrecked the cap......and Fox ball gets us a 7-9 or 8-8 record with nothing to play for in December. Not acceptable.

Now, if there isn't a better coach than Fox that we can get in here I'm fine with Fox next year. But I don't think that is going to happen.

[Baschski]

The main reason I don't want Cowher is because he'd install a 3-4 defense and we'd lose Meeks. Meeks has completely turned this defense around in one season, and with another off season to work with the players, he will make our defense one of the best in the league. Switching to a 3-4 would force us to go through another huge adjustment period where our defense would not be good at all, and there's no guarantee that we have the correct personnel to run an effective 3-4. I can deal with Fox as long as Moore is the starting QB.

[holycrikey]

I absolutely agree with the poster. I have no idea how Cowher got immortalized by our fanbase. Would he be an upgrade over Fox? Possibly. Does he have more playoff experience? Yes.

But he doesn't fit the Panthers NOW, especially given the possibility of an insane salary-cap-free year in 2010.

As I posted in another thread, it seems that everyone is bitching about Fox's mediocrity.

Here is Cowher's playoff history:

First 6 years: lost in playoffs

next 3 years: no playoffs

next 2 years: lost in playoffs

next 1 year : no playoffs

next 1 year: lost in playoffs

Then FINALLY an improbable Superbowl win (which, of course, he followed up that win with a crappy 8-8 year).

And yet our "fans" are screaming for Fox's head and claiming that he can't succeed at the high levels. Cowher is good, yes. But he is far from a savior as everyone is claiming him to be. Maybe if Fox ever had a worse season than 7-9 and never had a playoff win or a Superbowl appearance and maybe if we didn't have an uncapped year coming up, Cowher would make sense.

But he doesn't make sense regarding the reality the team is facing right now. The pieces are just beginning to fall regarding our team. Only last year did we get the insane rushing game we have now. Delhomme appears to be out of a starting job, and if so, Fox deserves the chance to control the team he helped build back in 2003, due to the (hopefully) new QB situation. I think Fox is loyal to a fault sometimes, but I think this year he has broken free from Delhomme.

Even Cowher needed two years to develop a rookie QB and get him decent for a Superbowl. I'd love to see Fox put his full faith in Moore (or someone else) and see where it gets us.

Again, I prime all these statements with the "if". If Delhomme is back, my faith is gone.

[tight lines]

rep

[rico6]

first, rep.

second, what the collective thinks does not matter. the decisions are not made on this board any more than they were made on that steeler board years ago. an NFL team discussion forum is simply a way to vent and this board is no different than others.

I think it is a mistake to lump the "Fire Fox" contingent in with the "Hire Cowher" contingent just like it is to lump the haters in with the realists. Fox hasn't gotten the job done in the year when everything was in place. This was supposed to be the year. This is why we traded draft picks, this is why we wrecked the cap......and Fox ball gets us a 7-9 or 8-8 record with nothing to play for in December. Not acceptable.

Now, if there isn't a better coach than Fox that we can get in here I'm fine with Fox next year. But I don't think that is going to happen.

This.

Reptar+

[PantherDude]

The main reason I don't want Cowher is because he'd install a 3-4 defense and we'd lose Meeks. Meeks has completely turned this defense around in one season, and with another off season to work with the players, he will make our defense one of the best in the league. Switching to a 3-4 would force us to go through another huge adjustment period where our defense would not be good at all, and there's no guarantee that we have the correct personnel to run an effective 3-4. I can deal with Fox as long as Moore is the starting QB.

Amen!! Being the best with one team doesn't always work when he coach a different team. Remeber Dikta coaching the 'Aints? He won a Superbowl with the Bears & couldn't accomplish the same success with the 'Aints I don't want something like that if Cowher come here. And the fact we would have to get rid of Meeks & that would be dumb to get rid of him.

[Kyle82]

Bill will be Tampas problem next season...he'll probably replace an up and coming coach.....lots of friction....Tampa will stay @ the bottom of our division for years to come.

[Mother Grabber]

What exactly does Fox bring to the table? 8-8 (+/- 2). Oh boy. He has had plenty of time to build a team. We have a team full of talent, but are still just a predictable and mediocre as ever. He's had his chance, now let someone else have a go. I don't care if it's Cowher, or a young coordinator. Just anyone who's not going to give us the same BS for another 3 years.

[bigcuz]

What exactly does Fox bring to the table? 8-8 (+/- 2). Oh boy. He has had plenty of time to build a team. We have a team full of talent, but are still just a predictable and mediocre as ever. He's had his chance, now let someone else have a go. I don't care if it's Cowher, or a young coordinator. Just anyone who's not going to give us the same BS for another 3 years.

Cute name MotherGrabber, but ya need to check your arithmetic. Last year's 12-4 does not fit 8-8 (+/- 2), duh. No, Foxxy has shown that he knows how to win. What he needs to do, and he and his staff will be back next year, is to recognize he has a solid QB for 2010 - Matt Moore

[Mother Grabber]

Last year we were 12-4 because of a very weak schedule. We barely beat the Raiders and 0-16 Lions. We were exposed in the playoffs for being a mediocre team with a weak schedule, not a 12-4 powerhouse. But if that's what you want out of your team, feel free to support Foxball. Personally, I'd like to see a team that dominates opponents and is in the thick of it every year, not dancing around .500 and barely squeaking out wins.

For those who say that Fox knows how to win...what exactly has he won? He's been the coach now for 8 seasons. He has 5 playoff wins, coming in a grand total of 2 of those seasons. 5 total playoff wins in 8 seasons. That's not a very strong measure of success.