November 28, 2006
Will Cowher go to N.C. State?
Now that Chuck Amato has been fired at N.C. State, the speculation rages on from all quarters about whether Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher will return to his alma mater to coach. There were reports of signs at Monday night's Wolfpack basketball game (part of the televised ACC-Big Ten Challenge) urging State AD Lee Fowler to hire Cowher and he is obviously the first choice of the fanbase right now.
Most of the informed speculation and other talk seems to indicate that the odds of Cowher leaving the Steelers and relaxing in his new Raleigh home next year are better than the odds of him coaching the Wolfpack.
Dave Glenn of the ACC Area Sports Journal and 850 The Buzz has the definitive Q&A on the Cowher situation at his blog from a Monday post. Glenn points out that there has been no confirmation of Cowher as a candidate and that Cowher turned his alma mater down before Amato was hired. He also does a good job of pointing out the pros and cons that Cowher will have to weigh in making the decision.
A post on the blog of 850 the Buzz made Monday indicates that Cowher would likely end the speculation by saying he wasn't coming to Raleigh at some point Tuesday, either in a statement or in his weekly news conference. The early wire reports on the Cowher news conference make no mention of the State job. The same blog post mentions that Chuck Neinas is involved in assisting with the coaching search.
A collaborative piece by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writers calls the notion of Cowher leaving the NFL to coach N.C. State a "laughable" idea. The reasons given include the expected pay cut and the fact that the Rooneys would probably not let Cowher out of his contract without receiving a large buyout.
An Associated Press report mentions the now infamous Cowher house in Raleigh and speculates that the Steelers will probably not let Cowher out of his contract to coach anywhere else, even at the college level.
Other candidates mentioned for the job by the News & Observer include: David Cutcliffe, Paul Johnson, Norm Chow (who was offensive coordinator at State in 2000), and former East Carolina coach Steve Logan (who is now in NFL Europe.)
At this point it would appear that Cowher will not be the next coach for the Pack. Things can and do change quickly at times though, so stay tuned.
Comments:
Evan said:
posted on November 29, 2006 9:49 AM — 66.57.23.85 — link — abuse?
For those that don't know 850thebuzzblog is a bunch of idiots. Like everything else they throw out ideas and hope something sticks. There notion that cowher was going to say something at the PC yesterday about the NC State job was laughable. They took the piece Dave Glenn did (a regular on their show) and tried to make something out of it. They do this a lot.
Cowher is a long shot, everyone knows it, but the fact that he hasn't said NO yet gives us a glimmer of hope. If he were to come here it would obviously not be about the money so the Pitt paper is entirely off base as well, in a previous article this week they asked the question, could Cowher be burnt out? That could have something to do with his lack of passion for the Steelers this year.
Paul Johnson is the clear cut #2, and here is an interesting post from a former Johnson player, it will probably change your mind on him if you have a preconceived notion.
FanoftheGame said:
posted on November 29, 2006 10:12 AM — 12.43.234.14 — link — abuse?
I really don't think Cowher is so desperate that he'd want to take the NC State job. Its not like coaching college ball at the D-1 level is any less taxing than being a head coach in the NFL. I'd be very suprised if Cowher took another job anytime soon. Not to say he's going to stay with the Steelers, but if he leaves Pittsburgh I think he's going to take some time off. More time off than NC State is going to wait before filling the position anyway.
TramadoL82759 said:
posted on December 20, 2006 6:03 PM — 203.158.29.63 — link — abuse?
I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. What can I say? I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning, but pfft. Not that it matters. Pretty much nothing exciting happening to speak of. I haven't been up to much these days.
TramadoL34704 said:
posted on December 21, 2006 10:22 AM — 203.76.193.198 — link — abuse?
Not much on my mind these days, but what can I say? It's not important. I just don't have much to say lately. I've just been letting everything pass me by recently, but eh.
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SCBuck said:
posted on November 28, 2006 7:57 PM — 204.116.175.121 — link — abuse?There is a rumor that Rich R may be going to NC state. He said it smells too bad in Morgantown