Report: Bill Cowher Mulling Return; Giants On Wish List
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Bill Cowher is reportedly ready to get back to coaching - on his terms.
According to an ESPN source, the New York Giants, Houston Texans, and Miami Dolphins are atop Cowher's wish list. The unidentified source said Cowher would consider a return to the NFL should one of the three teams make a coaching change before next season.
Giants co-owner John Mara criticized the report after New York's memorable loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.
"That is ridiculous," Mara told the Daily News. "Are we down to that? We were writing Bill Cowher stories two months ago and now we are going to write them again. That's ridiculous."
Since Cowher retired after the 2006 season, the rest of the NFL has wondered whether he'll show he can coach again. His name seems to come up whenever there is an opening, and Cowher isn't going to quell that talk.
"I certainly will look into situations with open ears," he said during the 2010 preseason.
For now, Cowher is an analyst for CBS, which allows him to stay close to the game if he does choose to coach again — or lets him fulfill his football cravings without returning to the field. At the network's NFL media day in August, Cowher said his new colleagues have become family, just like it was with the Steelers, and he'd only leave for an ideal situation.
"I'm not sitting there lobbying for any one team," Cowher said this August. "You know what? I always thought, you'll know. When the time comes, you'll know. Right now the season's starting, and my thoughts aren't on coaching. My thoughts are on trying to give great coverage."
The familiarity of football season offers comfort for Cowher, whose his wife, Kaye, died of skin cancer in July. Cowher said he never considered taking time off.
Cowher has a career coaching record of 149-90-1, and led the Steelers to a Super Bowl title in 2005.
