Who is Bill Cowher? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: William Laird Cowher

Age: 66 Years, 66 Year Old Males

Born Country: United States

Coaches American Football Players

U.S. State: Pennsylvania

Notable Alumni: North Carolina State University

City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

More Facts

education: North Carolina State University

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Childhood & Early Life

Bill Cowher was born William Laird Cowher, on May 8, 1957, in Crafton, Pennsylvania. There is no public information about his parents or siblings. He joined the ‘Carlynton High’ for his early education. Cowher was inclined toward football and basketball right from his school days.

Cowher joined ‘North Carolina State University’ for his higher studies. He was the captain of the university football team. In his senior year, Cowher was awarded the title of the ‘Most Valuable Player.’ In 1979, he graduated from the university, with a Bachelor’s degree in education.

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Career

In 1979, Cowher was picked to play in the ‘National Football League’ (NFL). He was selected to play as the linebacker for the team ‘Philadelphia Eagles.’ The following year, he signed up to play or the ‘Cleveland Browns.’ Cowher played three seasons for the ‘Browns,’ after which, he was traded back to the ‘Eagles.’ He played two seasons with the ‘Eagles.’ During his playing career, Cowher mostly played in special teams.

In 1985, Cowher started his career as a coach. He began coaching ‘Cleveland Browns’ under the famous coach Marty Schottenheimer. Cowher was the special teams coach for the ‘Browns’ for the 1985-1986 season. During the next season, he became their secondary coach. In 1989, Cowher was appointed as the defensive coordinator of the ‘Kansas City Chiefs.’

In 1992, Bill Cowher was appointed as the fifteenth head coach of the ‘Pittsburgh Steelers.’ He was the second head coach since the merger of the team with the ‘NFL.’ Under the leadership of Cowher, the performance of the team improved considerably. ‘Pittsburgh Steelers’ made a tremendous comeback, after having missed the playoffs in the six previous years. In 1995, at the age of 38, Cowher became the youngest head coach to lead his team to a ‘Super Bowl.’ He is the second coach in the history of the ‘NFL’ to lead his team to playoffs, in the first six seasons after taking over as a head coach.

Bill Cowher worked as the head coach of the ‘Steelers’ for 15 seasons. During this period, the team won eight division titles, earned 10 post-season playoff berths, and played in 21 playoff games. The team reached six ‘AFC’ championship games, and made two ‘Super Bowl’ appearances. Cowher became one of the six coaches in the history of the ‘NFL’ to claim at least seven division titles.

In February 2006, ‘Steelers’ defeated ‘Seattle Seahawks’ and won the ‘Super Bowl XL.’ This entitled Cowher to his first ever ‘Super Bowl Ring.’ In January 2007, Cowher stepped down from the position of the head coach of ‘Pittsburgh Steelers,’ as he intended to spend more time with his family. His record as a head coach is 149-90-1.

In February 2007, Cowher joined as a studio analyst on the American sports program ‘The NFL Today.’ It is a pre-game show, which is telecast on the ‘CBS’ network. The show features latest news from the world of ‘NFL’ as well as predictions for the upcoming games. In the same year, Cowher appeared in the reality TV show ‘Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race.’ The show had several celebrities participating in a stock car racing competition.

In July 2010, Cowher was the key speaker for the ‘National Agents Alliance’ at their leadership conference. In 2012, he performed in the movie ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ In the movie, he performed as the head coach of a football team.

Family & Personal Life

Bill Cowher has married twice. In 1981, he married Kaye Young, a professional basketball player. The couple has three daughters - Meagan, Lauren, and Lindsay. All of them are basketball players. In July 2010, Kaye Cowher died of complications from skin cancer.

In 2014, Cowher married Veronica Stigeler. They are not known to have children. In 2018, Cowher announced that he would be moving to New York, after selling his house in Raleigh.

Bill Cowher Biography