Bill Cowher: Key To Chiefs-Steelers Is Turnover Battle
PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to get a win at home in the first round of the playoffs but now they will travel to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for their second round match-up against the Chiefs.
Arrowhead Stadium is considered one of the most difficult, hostile environments in the NFL.
NFL Today on CBS analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher knows first hand about the tough atmosphere. He was a defensive coordinator with the Chiefs before taking the Pittsburgh head coaching job.
Cowher joined Starkey and Mueller to talk about the upcoming divisional round game between the Steelers and Chiefs.
"You can talk to any player or coach; it's one of the loudest places in the National Football League to play," he said. "That certainly bodes well for the defense because you get a quick start and they have some guys that come off the corner."
However, that doesn't mean the Steelers won't be able to quiet the crowd. Cowher, who coached Ben Roethlisberger for three years knows the veteran QB and this Steelers offense is very capable of scoring points.
"He's (Roethlisberger) been there before. He's played in games where it's been loud. They have great balance on offense," he said.
Ultimately, Cowher thinks this will be a great game between two very good teams.
"This is going to be a great chess match," he added.
"The biggest key to this game is going to be turnovers. You have a wet ball, and it could be a sloppy field. You remember last game against the Kansas City Chiefs. They turned it over a couple times very early in that game and it got out of hand quickly," he said.
Starkey and Mueller continued the interview asking Cowher about Joey Porter and his thoughts on how head coach Mike Tomlin handled the situation, which was putting him on leave.
"I think Mike did the appropriate thing," he said. "You want the focus to be on the game itself. We all know you can never put yourself into that situation," he added about Porter.
The hosts also continued to talk to Cowher and wondered if he would ever have any interest in returning to the NFL and coach again. Every year there are always a handful of open coaching spots. Cowher has been retired from coaching since 2006. However he's been an 'NFL Today on CBS' analyst since 2007.
"I had the best job in football and I recognized that. It was a good young team, great organization and great coaching staff, and I put a lot of stock into it" he said. "But it was just time."
He went on to say that he was able to do things that he hadn't had much of a chance to do during his football coaching career.
"I had a chance to spend some time with my late wife, and then now with my kids. I have an opportunity to live a life now that (let's me) do things that I could never do before," he said.
He likes his job now and still likes having some football in his life.
"I still think I'm part of the game by working with CBS and doing the Thursday games for the first part of the season," he said. "When the offseason comes I have another life and I'm really enjoying that part of it right now. I'm healthy, happy and in a really good place."
But, when Cowher was asked if the coaching door was shut for good, as a follow up, he didn't rule it out completely.
"I'll never shut a door. Why shut a door you don't have to? I say that because I don't want to be that same guy that says 'well you said you were going to do this' but like I said, I'm in a really good place," he said.
You can check out the full interview with Bill Cowher on Starkey and Mueller below.
