Bill Cowher (William Laird Cowher) is an American Football Coach and Linebacker who played in National Football League(NFL). Bill Cowher began his NFL career as a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979. Eventually, he started his coaching career at age 28 as an assistant under Marty Schottenheimer for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City.

Early life

Bill Cowher was born on May 8th of 1957, in Crafton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Likewise, he is 64 years old. He was born to parents Laird Cowher and Dorothy Cowher. Cowher excelled in football, basketball, and track when he was in Carlynton High. Bill mostly played football and basketball in his school days.

He attended North Carlina State University for higher studies where he also played as a linebacker. Bill was a starting linebacker and also a captain of the university football team. He also won Most Valuable Player(MVP) in his senior year. In 1979, Bill got his Bachelor’s degree in Education.

Professional Life

Bill Cowher began his NFL career as a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979. He signed with Cleveland Browns the following year. After three seasons with the Browns, he was traded back to the Eagles where he played for two seasons. During his stint in Eagles, he broke the leg of Jeff Fisher which propelled Fisher into retiring and starting coaching.

Cowher started his coaching career at age 28 as an assistant under famous Coach Marty Schottenheimer for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City. Cowher also took less pay to take a coaching position than what he would have made with the Eagles in 1985 as he saw his future more in coaching. He was a special coach for the Browns in 1985-86 and a Secondary Coach in 1987-88. In 1989, he was a defensive coordinator for Kansas City Chiefs.

Headcoach of Pittsburgh Steelers

He was appointed as Head Coach for Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992. Under his leadership, the performance of the improved and reached new heights as Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs after missing it for six years. Cowher became the youngest coach to win the Superbowl in 1995. Bill worked as Head Coach of Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons.

During his tenure, the team captured eight division titles, earned 10 playoffs season berths, played in 21 playoff games, advanced to six AFC Championship games, and two Super Bowl appearances. He became one of the six coaches in the history of the NFL to hold at least seven division titles. On February 5 of 2006,  Pittsburgh Steelers defeated Seattle Seahawks to claim the Super Bowl. He resigned from the Pittsburgh Steelers after 15 long seasons.

He signed to The NFL Today as a studio analyst on February 5, 2007.  In July 2010, Cowher became a key speaker for the ‘National Agents Alliance’ at their leadership conference. He also appeared in the movie The Dark Knight Rises as head coach of the football team. Bill was told live on CBS that he was being inducted into the Pro Hall of Fame by president David Baker on January 11, 2020.

Caption: Bill listening to the player Source: TSN