The case against Cowher

and I always have to see Cowher cry on that damn NFL Network commercial. No to Cowher and Yes to Williams.

Here's my take on Cowher.

He is a really good coach. He had some dominant defensive talent early in his career (Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, Rod Woodson) and got the most out of them. He stuck with an underperforming QB (Kordell Stewart) for too long, to the eventual detriment of his team. During much of his career, the Steelers were in the worst conference in football (The Bengals were horrible until 2003, the Browns had two winning seasons in his tenure, and the Ravens were schizophrenically great or rotten). There was a stretch in his tenure (1998-2000) where he never finished above 3rd in his division (and people were openly calling for his head), which was righted after realignment (which gave him the Browns, Bengals, and Ravens twice a year).

What part of that screams "We gotta get this guy!"

His demand for total personnel control? Do the names Tommy Maddox or Kordell Stewart give you pause when thinking about ceding complete control?

Is stability the real answer? Because, I think I could prove that the Rooney family doesn't know how to fire people. They haven't fired a head coach since 1968. That guy (Mike Austin) won eleven games in three years, and may have deserved it.

Do we feel like he's the guy who can light a fire in the players' collective belly? Here's the major additions to the Steelers this year: coach Mike Tomlin, and punter Daniel Sepulveda. Who's more responsible for the extra three wins they got this year? My guess is the coach.

The popular notion is that we can throw enough money at Cowher to make him consider this. Perhaps the real question is, do we really want a leader who won't be bothered to get off his couch for less than $10 million?

It should be noted that if Coach Cowher is hired, I'll erase this thread and anyone who dares quote it. I'm a moderator, and I'm crazy in the head.

I'm not a Cowher fan but he didnt draft Kordell.

The main issue I see with Cowher is control. We all know that didn't fly very well when Marty wanted total control, so I don't see how Snyder would be willing to give that up again. Especially since he's already said he wants to keep the personnel acquisition process the same.

I agree. I really don't want to see Cowher in D.C. and I think the players (especially our defense) would resent him for taking the job they believed should have gone to Greg Williams. Also, we were just starting to get some positive media attention for the first time in years as a team that emphasizes family first, a place where prospective free agents might want to come for a little less maybe. Let's not screw that up and go back to making splashy moves from outside of the organization, like we used to.

But not to worry, I totally believe Snyder is smarter that a lot of fans give him credit for and he will make the right move by giving the job to G. Williams. You don't become a self made multi-millionaire/billionaire with just dumb luck.

Welcome on your first post & nice name, Lowblow. I totally agree w/your first paragraph & I know many here do as well, while I HOPE that your 2nd paragraph is true.

Snyder's brilliant as a biz man, no doubt about that. I didn't realize until I read the wash post article today about him, that his first fortune was made through 'Snyder Communications.' I thought he got into real estate development first. Look at his other investments, Dick Clark productions & Six Flags. The man is in the entertainment business. Where football people & fans might see an obvious need for continuity w/the staff, Synder may fear the team loses its luster w/an ordinary dude like Grilliams. The last line of this article is scary, though its only from a ticket broker. here's the link
washingtonpost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010804042.html)

The biggest argument against bringing in Cowher is based around the salary cap. Consider this:

1) The Redskins are currently over the cap by $20 million, which is a straw man number of course. They've got the ability to restructure contracts and get about $10-15 million under the cap before free agency and the draft. That should give a new guy like Cowher good flexibility to get a few guys he likes in free agency. But not too many. He can't do what Gibbs did in 2004 and bring in a slew of guys (Griffin, Washington, Portis, Brunell, Daniels, Springs, Moss). In other words, Cowher's going to be forced to work mostly with what he has, which leads me to my next point...

2) Cowher has traditionally fielded a very large and physical offensive line. Our current group is not exceptionally large (more middle of the road, even on the smaller side). We're an athletic line, a la Al Saunders, as opposed to huge mashers. If Cowher wants to change out the offensive line, he can't. We can't gain any cap relief from the Jon Jansen contract until 2010. We can't gain cap relief from the Randy Thomas contract until 2011. And we can't gain cap relief from the Samuels contract until 2009. I personally don't understand why you'd ever want to get rid of those guys, even if you like bigger linemen. But the point remains, Cowher would be stuck with them.

3) Defensively, Cowher runs a 3-4. Given the points I made in number (1) above, Cowher can't just go bringing in the LBs we'd need to run his 3-4. Or maybe he'd play Andre Carter at the rush LB spot? And I'm not sure Griffin or Montgomery are suited to be the anchor you need in the middle of a 3-man line. He probably needs a big NT like Vince Wilfork. But the main point; given that the Redskins need to restructure a bunch of deals this year just to get under the cap and shed that $20 million we're currently over by, this will kick more of the cap hit into the future for those players. In 2009 and 2010, the Skins may find it even tougher to get under the cap, and may be even more restrained in free agency.

In summation, if Cowher wants to change out the personnel to fit his traditional style of play, it's going to take 3 or 4 years to do it. He won't have the flexibility in free agency to change the makeup of the team. He can't shed some of the big contracts for another few years. He'll have to do it through the draft. Or, instead of trying to change the team to fit his system, he could try to change his system to fit his team. But it seems like Gregg Williams would be better suited for that, after all, he and Saunders already have the system that fits the team best.

The Redskins do not have the cap flexibility to change the team every four years. Snyder has made a financial committment to a number of vets through the restructuring of contracts. He's showing a tendency towards keeping players together for the long haul; but if he brings in a new coach who tries to fit those round players into square holes, it will be a disaster. There's only one choice for the team given the salary cap picture: Gregg Williams.

My gut feeling is that Cowher sits out another year (his daughter is in high school 1 more year in Raleigh, NC)....then Fox screws up again with the Panthers and Cowher takes the Panthers job in 09.

The only other coach out there that will completely change a team is Marty Shottenheimer.....and you KNOW he aint coaching here again.

I still say odds are 90% Coach Williams is our man.
Turnover risks are just to high otherwise....especially with Saunders

The biggest argument against bringing in Cowher is based around the salary cap. Consider this:

1) The Redskins are currently over the cap by $20 million, which is a straw man number of course. They've got the ability to restructure contracts and get about $10-15 million under the cap before free agency and the draft. That should give a new guy like Cowher good flexibility to get a few guys he likes in free agency. But not too many. He can't do what Gibbs did in 2004 and bring in a slew of guys (Griffin, Washington, Portis, Brunell, Daniels, Springs, Moss). In other words, Cowher's going to be forced to work mostly with what he has, which leads me to my next point...

2) Cowher has traditionally fielded a very large and physical offensive line. Our current group is not exceptionally large (more middle of the road, even on the smaller side). We're an athletic line, a la Al Saunders, as opposed to huge mashers. If Cowher wants to change out the offensive line, he can't. We can't gain any cap relief from the Jon Jansen contract until 2010. We can't gain cap relief from the Randy Thomas contract until 2011. And we can't gain cap relief from the Samuels contract until 2009. I personally don't understand why you'd ever want to get rid of those guys, even if you like bigger linemen. But the point remains, Cowher would be stuck with them.

3) Defensively, Cowher runs a 3-4. Given the points I made in number (1) above, Cowher can't just go bringing in the LBs we'd need to run his 3-4. Or maybe he'd play Andre Carter at the rush LB spot? And I'm not sure Griffin or Montgomery are suited to be the anchor you need in the middle of a 3-man line. He probably needs a big NT like Vince Wilfork. But the main point; given that the Redskins need to restructure a bunch of deals this year just to get under the cap and shed that $20 million we're currently over by, this will kick more of the cap hit into the future for those players. In 2009 and 2010, the Skins may find it even tougher to get under the cap, and may be even more restrained in free agency.

In summation, if Cowher wants to change out the personnel to fit his traditional style of play, it's going to take 3 or 4 years to do it. He won't have the flexibility in free agency to change the makeup of the team. He can't shed some of the big contracts for another few years. He'll have to do it through the draft. Or, instead of trying to change the team to fit his system, he could try to change his system to fit his team. But it seems like Gregg Williams would be better suited for that, after all, he and Saunders already have the system that fits the team best.

The Redskins do not have the cap flexibility to change the team every four years. Snyder has made a financial committment to a number of vets through the restructuring of contracts. He's showing a tendency towards keeping players together for the long haul; but if he brings in a new coach who tries to fit those round players into square holes, it will be a disaster. There's only one choice for the team given the salary cap picture: Gregg Williams.

thorough post Schneed. It seems obvious to us, but Snyder is a salesman & marketer. If anybody could convince Cowher that it's a good fit, it would be him (and $10mil a year helps a lot!). Cowher might come to an interview w/his agent well prepared to ask all relevant questions about the cap & personel, yet Snyder & co. might be better prepared to spin the situation.

Sadly, all the reasons you list for Cowher not being a good fit here, point to two reasons that he would take the job:
1) $$
2) challenge

Given the circumstances, he might be interested if & only if he's the highest paid guy in the league, or to be more cynical, he might just be interested in a big payday at this point of his career. To justify taking the job, he can convince himself that it's a "challenge" that he's never faced before.

I surely hope the Danny is just being coy about this & putting up a front for the nfl to show he's taking the process seriously, and that he's going to give GW an honest chance to convince him. At this point who can predict what Snyder will do?

Isn't Cowher a very similar coach to Joe Gibbs? Obviously, the score is 3-1 but there are some stylistic similarities.

They both champion a run oriented, ball control offense with an extreme emphasis on limiting turn overs. Both are considered conservative play callers, almost to a fault. Lastly, both are excellent motivators. Cowher was universally loved by his team, until his final year when he and Roethlisberger were at odds.While I do think that GWilliams is the best choice, I do not believe that Cowher will be a drastic change.

One thing I will say is that I do not see a very strong cost vs. benefit ratio to Cowher. What is it going to take to get him out of retirement, $8 million per? If the man isn't motivated to coach by anything more than dollar signs, do we really want him? I could be wrong, but I think GWill would be the better value. That may not even be a concern since coaches' salaries are outside of the cap and Dan isn't exactly hurting financially.

GW, in my opinion, has got to be chomping at the bit so to speak for this opportunity. He pretty much ego'd (sorry matty) his way out of Buffalo and hasn't really been in the mix for any HC jobs since. This is his shot at redemption and that is a much better motivator than money.

Another argument that has been made in GW's favor is the fact that the players are behind him. That may be, but I don't think it would take more than a few days for the team to come to terms with playing for a coach with a super bowl win on his resume. At the end of the day, players just want to win and BC has proven he can do that.

I think that while I would prefer Grilliams, I would be OK with BC as an alternate.

Cowher won't coach here b/c of the FO structure. He is a Marty guy and guess what Marty left b/c of lack of control. I don't think it will happen. FWIW i think Cowher is a great coach. It's not easy to get in the playoffs virtually every year.

I hope we don't bring in a college coach...PLEASE NO. Pete Carroll included. I don't know if anyone remembers it, but PC didn't do to well in the NFL the first time. I'm not against 2nd chances but please no college coaches.

My only vote is for GW.

Isn't Cowher a very similar coach to Joe Gibbs? Obviously, the score is 3-1 but there are some stylistic similarities.

They both champion a run oriented, ball control offense with an extreme emphasis on limiting turn overs. Both are considered conservative play callers, almost to a fault. Lastly, both are excellent motivators. Cowher was universally loved by his team, until his final year when he and Roethlisberger were at odds.While I do think that GWilliams is the best choice, I do not believe that Cowher will be a drastic change.

One thing I will say is that I do not see a very strong cost vs. benefit ratio to Cowher. What is it going to take to get him out of retirement, $8 million per? If the man isn't motivated to coach by anything more than dollar signs, do we really want him? I could be wrong, but I think GWill would be the better value. That may not even be a concern since coaches' salaries are outside of the cap and Dan isn't exactly hurting financially.

GW, in my opinion, has got to be chomping at the bit so to speak for this opportunity. He pretty much ego'd (sorry matty) his way out of Buffalo and hasn't really been in the mix for any HC jobs since. This is his shot at redemption and that is a much better motivator than money.

Another argument that has been made in GW's favor is the fact that the players are behind him. That may be, but I don't think it would take more than a few days for the team to come to terms with playing for a coach with a super bowl win on his resume. At the end of the day, players just want to win and BC has proven he can do that.

I think that while I would prefer Grilliams, I would be OK with BC as an alternate.

Cowher was not universally loved by the team. He was being tuned out by most in his next to last season and in his last season it was Bettis, not Cowher, that everyone listened to.

BTW, Too is not the same as to.