WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT COACH COWHER IN 1992
Ernie Accorsi, Cleveland Browns executive vice president/football operations:
"First of all, I think Bill Cowher is a bright, committed football coach. I got the impression that Bill played because he wanted to coach.
As a player, early in his career, he was preparing himself to coach. He was trained by one of the best in Marty Schottenheimer. He's innovative and very committed to coaching. He had no adjustment problem from playing to coaching.
He's enthusiastic and aggressive. The team will take on his personality. Bill was a very serious candidate for the head coaching job here. His interview projected him into a serious candidate. I think he will make his impact. His impact will be felt immediately, unfortunately for us."
Marty Schottenheimer, Kansas City Chiefs head coach:
"Bill is a very bright, hard working individual. He has two qualities that we think are most important; he's a very fine teacher and very demanding. There will be no free lunches.
He has an excellent ability to express the things that he thinks are important. He'll be able to get dialogue in exchange of ideas among the people that he works with, be it management, personnel, players or his staff.
There will be a purpose to everything that they do, it will be extremely well organised. He's abundantly qualified to do the job. Bill's been in the NFL for twelve years. He's always been very detail conscious, very thorough in everything that he does.
Bill Cowher has but one negative in that he's never been a head coach before. Other than that, I don't know of anything."
Deron Cherry, Kansas City Chiefs safety (six times All-Pro):
"He's a person who's a very tough guy. If you are looking for someone in the mould of Chuck Noll as far as toughness, his football teams will definitely be tough, physical football teams.
To me, he's a great guy. He has a great understanding of this conference. He's a people's person and I'm sure the guys will get along with him very, very well. He's a demanding, but very fair too."
Lou Holtz, Notre Dame head coach (recruited Cowher at North Carolina State):
"Bill is an outstanding coach and person. I am really happy for his success. One does not accomplish at an early age all that he has without having a lot of things going for him. I feel sure that he will do very well."
Bill Maas, defensive tackle Kansas City Chiefs:
"He's a guy all along who has been grooming himself for the opportunity. He never let the Mickey Mouse stuff get in the way. He was business, all business. When you walked in the room it was all business. You didn’t say, '"Hey Bill, how's the wife and kids.'"
Tom Donahoe: "When Marty left Cleveland, we approached Bill at the Senior Bowl. I was impressed with him as a coach, and I thought he would be a good guy for Chuck (Noll) to talk to.
He was very honest. He said he didn’t want to make a lateral or backward move. He said his next job was as a coordinator, and then as a head coach. And it's to his credit that it happened just that way."
Rob McGovern #56 (played two seasons with the Chiefs):
"One of the things I saw and I was affected by was his intensity. He's just a born competitor. I like that in him so much. Everything we did, he was never satisfied. He'd strive to get it right himself. He's a perfect fit for the Steelers because he's so intense."
Gerald Williams #98:
"I didn’t know much about him, but I had a chance to meet him a week or two ago when he had an interview here. I was impressed."
COWHER'S 1992 ASSISTANTS
MY TRIBUTE TO BILL COWHER
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