AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > January > 22 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLike Cox, Cowher keeps his team contending
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Think of the Pittsburgh Steelers as the Atlanta Braves and Bill Cowher as Bobby Cox. Some people will read that as a criticism, but such folks are simply wrong. The Steelers (like the Braves) and Cowher (like Cox) deserve nothing but the highest form of praise. In businesses where nothing is guaranteed, those entities have achieved the sort of consistency that transcends the fickle bounce of a ball.
Some see Cowher as a too-conservative coach who can’t win the big game, just as some regard Cox as a stodgy tactician whose regular-season success hasn’t yielded October superiority. But there’s a greater issue than the outcome of a single playoff game or postseason series, and it’s that these two men persist in positioning their teams to play for championships.
The measure of Cowher isn’t the absence of an ultimate victory. The measure of this man is that he keeps taking a frugal organization — the Steelers refuse to overpay any free agent, often to their short-term detriment — to the brink of a title, and now, 10 years after his first Super Bowl trip, Cowher is going again. Like Cox, Cowher has held his job longer than anyone else working in his industry. Like Cox, Cowher has won with all manner of personnel, having reached the AFC championship game with three different quarterbacks.
And the Steelers, like the Braves, realize how blessed they are. Because the NFL plays a shorter season and results therein are an even greater function of injury, Cowher hasn’t finished first every year the way Cox has, but he works for the Rooneys, who are patient in a way that nobody else in this microwave society is anymore.
The Steelers have had only two head coaches since 1969, the other being the great Chuck Noll. The Rooneys hire good men and let them work. They don’t overreact to a downturn. They stay the course. Like the Braves, the Steelers find talent in the strangest places. Their leading rusher, Willie Parker, is an undrafted free agent. Their best receiver, Hines Ward of Forest Park, was the final choice in the third round of the 1998 draft, going 18 picks after the Falcons chose the legendary Jammi German. Their quarterback is a second-year man from Miami (Ohio), and in Ben Roethlisberger the Steelers found the leader they haven’t had since Terry Bradshaw. (Who was, you’ll recall, a product of that football factory Louisiana Tech.)
As fashionable as it became to fault Cowher for losing four AFC championship games (three at home), the luxury of distance offers another take: San Diego after the 1994 season was indeed a bad loss, but in each of the three other games — to Denver in 1998, to New England in 2002 and last season — the Steelers had the lesser quarterback and probably the lesser team. Isn’t it just possible their coach got more from them in those regular seasons than they were actually worth? Isn’t it possible Cox does the same thing?
The test of a coach/manager and the measure of an organization is the capacity to sustain success, to change players but to maintain a standard. And that’s the beauty of consistency: If you keep putting yourself in position, sometimes even a slim chance can pan out. Pittsburgh entered these playoffs as the last AFC qualifier and somehow has toppled the conference’s top three seeds on the road.
Having come this far, the Steelers should beat Seattle two weeks hence, and then Cowher will have his Super Bowl, same as Cox took his World Series in 1995. (Somehow everybody forgets that one.) As iffy as it can be to compare one sport with another, the qualities shared by these admirable men are striking. Heck, they even have the same initials.
Permalink | Comments (36) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Mark Bradley
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By Larry
January 22, 2006 11:22 PM | Link to this
This is a good article; perhaps the greatest of all articles.
By Bryan G.
January 23, 2006 01:30 AM | Link to this
I had this thought a few weeks ago. Oh, Mark, get out of my head!
Great column, though. Cowher, like Cox, is greatly underappreciated due to their lack of postseason success. Cowher’s record speaks for itself, though. If you keep getting your putts close, eventually they’ll start falling.
By SaneZane
January 23, 2006 01:44 AM | Link to this
Mark Bradley never tires of sucking up to the home teams. I really got a kick out of his Michael Vick “model citizen” column.
There is absolutely no comparison to Cowher and Cox. At least Cowher has a trace of a personality.
By joe
January 23, 2006 08:12 AM | Link to this
You write that the Steelers are a “frugal” team. Hardly. They are a smart team. Frugal implies that the Steelers are cheap. Not true. They always spend the max of the salary cap, but their philosphy is just to not have a few players make a large % of the team’s cap room. Instead, they like to spread the wealthy more evenly around the “team.” And if you check out the Steelers practice facility and stadium, they are some of the nicest and most plush in the NFL.
By Ron Roberts
January 23, 2006 08:15 AM | Link to this
Here we go….another opportunity to allow the nimrods who wanna bash Cox and crack those HILARIOUS nose-picking jokes yet again.
And you’re right SaneZane… there is no comparison to Cox and Cowher. Cox hasn’t coached a team with a losing record since the ’80s. Cowher can’t say that. Cox hasn’t missed the playoffs since the ’80s. Cowher can’t say that. Cox loses top-flight players to injury and still makes the playoffs. Cowher can’t say that.
By hooper
January 23, 2006 08:28 AM | Link to this
It still blows my mind that Dan Reeves had an opportunity to draft Hines Ward.
By L.J.
January 23, 2006 09:21 AM | Link to this
Hooper, So did a bunch of other teams. Geez…if you think about it, anyone picked in the second round or later in the history of the NFL could have been a Falcon. Get over it idiot!
By Booger
January 23, 2006 09:34 AM | Link to this
You can lump Cowher and Cox together if you like, but in my mind Cox sticks out - and there is more than a tissue separating them. I’d pick Cox over Cowher as a manager who can never pull it out. Cox has won 15 little division signs, with the best pitching in baseball over an extended period, and he has only thing on his finger. Maybe he will watch the Super Bowl and learn a thing or two from Cowher. Cowher won’t start his backups, right? On a bright note, pitchers and catcher report soon.
By northwestDAWG
January 23, 2006 09:38 AM | Link to this
I would like to say a sincere “THANK YOU” to Rich McKay and the Atlanta Falcons! Way up here I’m a DAWG fighting off the PAC 10 legions. Now, I can get into it with the AFC. If you watched our win last, play after play was made with players picked by our G.M. Tim Ruskell who was trained by McKay. We appreciate the fine training job. How many owners do you see in front of the crowd waving the “12th MAN” flag? Noise? just ask any reporter or player and they’ll tell that Seahawk Stadium is the or one the loudest venues in the NFL. When it comes to owners and how deep their pockets are, Seattle is tops in the NFL. You gave us the final missing piece to our puzzle and that is a SMART FOOTBALL MAN to run our organization and pick talent. As of now it appears that the AFC overall is the better conference but the “Hawks” will show up in Detroit and don’t count us out yet. If you Falcon fans want to see the “west coast offense” WATCH SEATTLE” Oh!, Mark,your little comment about the Steelers should beat will be forwarded. The DAWGS win the SEC and the team of my adopted home town, Seattle, wins the NFC Championship! Not a bad year for this Savannah born, J’ville raised transplant
By Steve H
January 23, 2006 09:47 AM | Link to this
I want to thank you for your comments. I think both cities should be grateful the “BCs” and organizations that they have and for the successes that each bring year in and year out. We have the opportunity to look forward to each year with the hope of a championship, unlike some cities that go into the start of the season already making the comment…’wait to next year’. Thanks for giving Bobby Cox his due and pointing out how good Bill Cowher has done. It was a good comparison that I appreciate.
By northwestDAWG
January 23, 2006 10:02 AM | Link to this
For give me but I forgot to make one final comment to Mark. I decided 3 yrs. ago that MR needed a true OC. Nobody walks on water. I’ve read your columns and I’m in your corner(you don’t need me in your couner, I just am). Makes a lot of DAWGS mad
By LeTwan Anthony
January 23, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this
Tom Glavine a Brave again? Just say, NO!
By JAKE
January 23, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this
Every time I see the Steelers I think… why doesn’t Tech hire Ken Whisenhunt? Kind of like we did when we hired George O’Leary as an “assistant” before he took over the program.
Get a Tech man to run to the football program and stop settling for mediocrity!
By Ala Jim
January 23, 2006 11:27 AM | Link to this
Bryan G, this has nothing to do with Cower or Cox, but my putts never fall—-NEVER!
By BO
January 23, 2006 12:19 PM | Link to this
BOOGER You are correct. Mark ,AJC sports writers Kissing up to BC again. 15 division signs means nothing. Who remembers anything about those games except BC played his subs and forgot how he got there. YOU PLAY TO WIN IT ALL WS, NOTHING ELSE IS GOOD ENOUGH. 1 out 15 not good in anything. TOM GLAVINE a Brave again, He— no! Thats what the Braves like to do bring back their old players.
By Larry
January 23, 2006 01:16 PM | Link to this
1 out of 15 ain’t bad either gents. Don’t forget only the Jays, Yanks, and Marlins have done better in the same time span. Cox does better than 80-90% of the league every year. I consider bad to be the Brewers, Pirates, Orioles, Rangers, etc. All you Cox haters werent laughing in 1995.
By brewerfaninATL
January 23, 2006 01:32 PM | Link to this
Larry: Only the Jays, Marlins, Yankees better than the Braves during their run? That’s actually pretty SAD, especially when the rival Marlins have won twice, all the while finishing lower than the Braves in the standings…kinda like kissing your sister on prom night, huh?!
By Martin
January 23, 2006 01:43 PM | Link to this
You forget how great some of those non-World-Series-winning Braves teams were. At some point Cox has to answer (or at least be held accountable) for his lack of post season success. Cox and Cowher, apples and oranges.
By Larry
January 23, 2006 01:56 PM | Link to this
I’ll cede you guys the 96 series. I’m still not sure how we lost that one. We came one baserunning error to winning it all in 91 too. All that being said though, the manager can only do so much. When the 3rd base coach is screaming his head off at LaRoche to run home in game 4 of the 05 Houston series and he just jogs, do you blame the manager or the player? Cox does a good job, and let me reiterate, I doubt many of you were hating back in 1995. You people forget how bad it could be!!! IE: Brewers, Reds, Mariners, etc…
By Mark
January 23, 2006 02:18 PM | Link to this
Nice article Mr.Bradley , I couldn’t agree with you more. Whether you love or hate Bobby Cox , he is a hall of fame manager with a world series ring. Enough said. Bill Cowher is like grit’s and egg’s , he always sticks to you and tastes great all the time. Who would have thought the Steeler’s and Seahawk’s would be playing in the 2006 Superbowl ?????? what are the odd’s ???? But we know N.F.L. team’s with great running games always excell in the playoff’s. I would love to see Tom Glavine back in a bravos uniform in 2007 , he is a complete pitcher now that he has one more pitch and it would be so sweet to see him win no.300 in a Braves Uniform. Spring training is right around the corner and I’m pumped !!! Bobby let the kid’s play. I’m predicting that Jeff Francour is going to have a monstrous season. Yes , the Braves are going to win the pennant again. Enjoy the ride people ,I remember the 70’s and late 80’s.
By BO
January 23, 2006 02:52 PM | Link to this
If BC is so great why in blank can’t he win in playoffs and don’t blame the players. Larry the coaches know LaRoach can’t run and BC said he was sick, so who’s blank fault is that. Thats one of the problems Nothing is ever BC fault. He don’t walk on waTER LIKE YOU WOULD like to beleive. Oh, I don’t hate him I just don’t like his coaching.
By Larry
January 23, 2006 03:08 PM | Link to this
LaRoche was “sick”? LOL I know senior citizens that could have run from 2nd to 3rd faster than he did. We could have won that game, forced game 5,won, swept the fraud Cards, and then taken the Chi-Sox down in 7 if LaRoche wasnt such a bum! Bobby Cox is MLBs best manager on MLBs best franchise!!! Where were all you nay-sayers in 1995?!?! Bill Cowher wishes he was Bobby Cox!
By Booger
January 23, 2006 03:20 PM | Link to this
RR brought the Booger out again. It’s good to be back. Here’s what I’ve been thinking today. If Bobby Cox is responsible for the 15 little signs, and the players are responsible for the playoff failures (is that what I read, Larry?) we can’t sit all the players. Since they don’t win for Bobby in the post season, maybe we should let Bobby rest after he wins the division. Take a few days off. Let Coralles or TP run the team. Go with your best player at every position. Hit and run when it’s called for. If a pitcher sucks, go with a different pitcher. Don’t keep running him out there to get scalded. No need to play a Bautista in left or a Klesko at first (unless you’ve been outmanaged. Ouch!) Score one more than the other team. Put a ring on your finger. Oh, that finger’s busy elsewhere? Sorry, forgot it was Bobby.
By Kennesaw Dawg
January 23, 2006 04:05 PM | Link to this
Whos better (or worse): Cox or LaRussa? I’d take Cox any day personally. Are both horrible managers, or are both great managers? And speaking of, how about all you Cox haters say who youd rather have as a manager. Torre? The Angels manager maybe? Who else? Heres a hint, no one. Cox is better. Deal with it.
By MikeRobey
January 23, 2006 04:35 PM | Link to this
Is it better to be in contention for 14 years (Braves)? or out of it before Spring Training starts every year (Brewers, Royals, Pirates, Devil Rays…etc.)?
Moved up from South Florida, where we never know from year to year if there’s going to be a fire-sale or even if the team is going to be around or moved to Vegas. Every year they want fan support, but just when they start to get it they blow up the team, and people get tired of the inconsistency. And that’s why the Marlins will probably be moved to Vegas, unless you Brave fans beat us to it and send your team out of town with your B**ching about how your team sucks.
By Ronnie
January 23, 2006 04:55 PM | Link to this
What happened to that Mark Bradley with the afro and the moustache. That guy was great!
By DavidU
January 23, 2006 04:57 PM | Link to this
Either they both suck or they are both good coaches/managers. We are a “what have you done for me lately” society, so because just yesterday Cowher got into the Super Bowl we forget he has never won one. So basically Cox has one ring to Cowher’s 0. Personally I think they are both great coaches, Cox 14 pennants and a World Series Ring, while Cowher keeps the Steelers in Playoff contention when the Pittsburg organization refuses to break the bank for any one player (They better get ready to break the bank for Big Ben though) Yet except for the Ravens Super Bowl run, the Steelers own the AFC North year in and year out. Like Bradley said they are the longest tenured coaches in each league for a reason.
By Booger
January 23, 2006 05:32 PM | Link to this
Cox does not have 14 pennants! The Braves have over-sold 14 division titles and the fans have bought the ranch. Winning the division ties you with 2 other teams that won theirs. Then, a wild card knocks you out and you finish, what?, third? Dig around and pick all you want, a sign is not a pennant.
By Matthew
January 23, 2006 05:51 PM | Link to this
Blah, blah, blah…
More of the boring SOS.
Look, you can’t compare the two, football and baseball being two totally seperate entities. Here’s one thing though… you know how much a win or a loss means to Cowher. You see it etched in his face. You hear it in his voice. With Booby, you see none of that. He’s a robot, much like he prefers his players to be. No emotions, ever.
The biggest load of bulls—t I ever heard was his comments after the Astros series this year. And then he tells the fans to go eat dirt? Cowher would never do that.
Man, I’ve had a good two weeks in the NFL. 5-1, with my only loss being the Pats game. I told Bradley in his last article he was wrong… Steelers and Seahawks.
And like I said 3 weeks ago… the Steelers are going to win the Super Bowl.
Final Score: Steelers 31 Seahawks 20
By EricD
January 23, 2006 06:01 PM | Link to this
Matthew, Get some real live friends, so you can brag to them, no one here cares about you being able to pick a winner, are you going to come by and tell us when you are 1-5 too?
Get a life.
By Bo
January 23, 2006 06:03 PM | Link to this
Larry, BC is the one that said LaRoche was sick,not me brother. Did BC lie? Yes, we should have won if BC wasnt such a bum.Larry I worked for the Braves 8 years I was there in 95 and it was great but 1-15 sucks.
By Matthew
January 23, 2006 06:05 PM | Link to this
Suck it Eric…
Just wondering if Larry went 1-5 the last two weeks, because he said he bets by picking against me, so it wasn’t for your benefit, jackass.
By TJ
January 23, 2006 07:33 PM | Link to this
I remember the 100 loss seasons and I’ll take the 14 divisional titles and one World Series victory over the 100 loss seasons any day.
The Braves failure to win more World Series, in my opinion, is due to things out of Bobby Cox’s control.
Bobby Cox did not fail Otis Nixon’s drug test, which pretty much ruined the Braves ability to manufacture runs against the Twins. It also wasn’t Bobby Cox who was deaked by Chuck Knoblock.
It wasn’t Bobby Cox who filled the Braves bullpen with scrubs like Jim Clancy, Juan Berringer, Alejondro Pena, ect. It seemed that many of the Braves teams during the run, were a legit closer away from winning it all, but were wasted because the Braves refused to spend the money on a dominant closer.
It wasn’t Bobby Cox who forgot how to hit the baseball in the playoffs. It wasn’t Bobby Cox who would not pull the trade for that impact player before the trade deadline.
Every team that beat the Braves in the World Series spent the money and pulled the deal on one or more impact players to patch a weakness and put them over the top. The Braves never did.
Since all you need is three deep in the starting pitching rotation in the playoffs, this negated the Braves strength in the regular season of having 5 dominant starters. This then magnified the teams other deficiencies which the other teams exploited.
The one time they did put it all together, adding Fred McGriff, got timely hitting like from David Justice, and actually had a dominant closer with Mark Wohlers (before he lost it the next year) they faced the one other team that never made the trade for the impact player they needed for the stretch, the Indians, and the Braves won.
The Braves were beat by better teams with better talent when they lost. Personnel is not Bobby Cox’s job, managing is. What he has done with inferior teams is remarkable. The blame goes with the front office. As good as Shurholtz is in making off season deals but his biggest shortcoming is the inability to pull off the last minute trade deadline deal for that big time impact player. Now with the Time Warner spending restrictions this problem has only become worse.
Atlanta is fortunate to have a manager who can compete with an inferior line up.
I remember when fans were calling for Joe Torre’s head just because he finished with the 2nd best record in baseball but unfortunately their divisional rivals the Dodgers had the best. Of course after Torre was fired the Braves fell into years of futility until Cox became manager.
By Scott
January 23, 2006 08:02 PM | Link to this
SaneZane, you are full of crap just like all of the other Cox bashers. How many superbowls has Bill Cowher won? NONE. Bobby Cox has a World Series championship ring.
And for the complete moron who said that it’s pretty sad that only the Yankees, Jays, and Marlins have been better during our run. Are you insane? The Braves have been the 4th best team when it comes to winning world series titles since 1991. Hell the Jays and Marlins both dropped off after they won the World Series, the Jays after 93 and the Marlins in 98 and 2004. The Braves have kept on being in contention every year is almost impossible in baseball and yet the Braves continue to pull it out year in and year out. Oh and the Braves have rebuilt their team how many times? It’s not like the Braves continue on with the same lineup the last 14 years. Hell they used 18 rookies last year and lost a heartbreaker to the eventual national league champions, the Houston Astros. The Braves will once again be back in playoff contention this season battling the Mets and Phillies for the division and then the Cardinals and whoever wins that joke of a division called the national league west. Every year when the Braves go to spring training they have a chance to win the World Series. Only the Yankees can claim that right as well. You think the Red Sox have a chance to win the World Series this year? NO, they are the 3rd best team in their division. The Astros won’t make the playoffs. The Cardinals are a year older and their window is slowly shutting. Are the big bad San Diego Padres going to win it? Of course not. They barely finished over .500 last year and still won that joke of a division. The Braves, Cardinals, Mets, and maybe the Phillies all have the best chance to make it to the World Series from the national league. 1 in 4 chance. That’s pretty good. I guarrantee you baseball fans in Tampa, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cincinatti would all switch places with you in a heart beat.
By DavidU
January 23, 2006 08:42 PM | Link to this
Finally a voice of reason.
By This gets old
January 24, 2006 02:04 AM | Link to this
I remember when you could sit in the stands at the Braves games and hear the players talking on the bench and sometimes out in the field.
Nobody talked about the Braves, nobody. I’ll take these Braves any day.