Bill Cowher went through his playoff issues during his tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. He posted a 2-4 record in AFC championship games with all four losses occurring at home.
But the Steelers are in the midst of perhaps an even more frustrating postseason problem — not getting past the first round. To fix that issue, Cowher, now an analyst at CBS Sports, is calling for the Steelers to make changes to their organization.
“Probably need some changes on that football team, players and coaches,” said Cowher on the CBS pregame show on January 12. “Because right now, that’s going to stick with them for a long time.
“It’s not that they lost, it’s the manner in which they lost.”
Cowher, though, didn’t offer specifics on what needs to change. He didn’t even mention head coach Mike Tomlin, who replaced Cowher after he retired in January 2007.
Steelers Suffered Embarrassing Defeat to Ravens
To a lot of Steelers fans on social media, it’s both the fact that the Steelers lost and the manner in which they lost to the Ravens.
Pittsburgh has suffered four straight defeats in the first round of the playoffs. That’s the longest losing streak in the AFC wild card round in Steelers history.
The Steelers also haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. Their current eight-year postseason win drought is twice as long as any other since the franchise’s first postseason win in 1972.
Overall, the Steelers have lost six consecutive playoff games.
With all those dubious streaks in mind, any type of loss to the Ravens would have been an issue for a lot of Steelers fans. But the way they lost might be the bigger issue.
“We talk about the physicality and the fact that the Ravens rushed for almost 300 yards,” Cowher noted. “That’s something they have to look at this offseason.”
During their six-game postseason losing streak, opponents have dominated the Steelers in the first half, particularly the first quarter. On January 11, the Ravens gained 308 yards and 19 first downs before halftime. The Steelers had 59 yards, two first downs and trailed 21-0.
As they often do under Tomlin, the Steelers made halftime adjustments to improve in the third quarter. But the defense still struggled with Baltimore’s physicality.
The Ravens rushed for 298 yards.
Watching Baltimore gash the Steelers defense on the ground was likely very painful to watch for Cowher. In his 15 seasons as Steelers head coach, Cowher’s defense finished third or better in run defense nine times.
What Changes Are Coming to Steelers?
It’s easy to say that changes are needed. But specifically what is more complicated.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported the day after the Steelers lost to the Ravens that the team is not interested in moving on from Tomlin. Unless offensive coordinator Arthur Smith leaves for a head coaching job, then the coach who runs the offense is very likely to stay too.
That could leave defensive coordinator Teryl Austin as a fall guy. Position coaches such as offensive line coach Pat Meyer and defensive line coach Karl Dunbar could be on the chopping block too.
The Steelers will also have 25 free agents, 21 of which will be unrestricted, this offseason. That includes all three quarterback — Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen — the Steelers had on their 2024 roster.
Tomlin will very likely remain head coach, which will anger a lot of Steelers fans. But the organization overall could look very different next season.
It sounds like Cowher welcomes that idea.
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Bill Cowher Calls for Steelers Changes After Another Early Playoff Exit