Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for SiriusXM Former Colts punter Pat McAfee.
On Sunday, November 13, Jeff Saturday won his debut as interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. In turn, that inspired former Colts punter Pat McAfee to troll former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher for comments made on the NFL on CBS pregame show prior to Indy’s 25-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10.
Pat McAfee to Bill Cowher: ‘Jeff Won’
Actually, McAfee trolled Cowher twice, first after the Colts emerged victorious against Josh McDaniels and the Raiders, and the second time after he landed Saturday as a guest on the November 14 edition of The Pat McAfee Show.
Here’s the first tweet, in which McAfee praises Saturday for leading the Colts to victory. Meanwhile, the accompanying video clip shows Cowher — a Pittsburgh area native who played his college football at North Carolina State and lived in Raleigh after stepping down as head coach of the Steelers — working the sound horn on behalf of the Carolina Hurricanes prior to a 2009 NHL playoff game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Some Penguins and Steelers fans criticized Cowher for supporting his adopted hometown hockey team over his hometown hockey team, which is no doubt what McAfee — also a Pittsburgh area native — is aiming to highlight.
But McAfee didn’t stop there. He also roasted Cowher a second time while announcing how he landed Saturday as a guest on the Monday, November 14 edition of The Pat McAfee Show:
🗣🗣 BREAKING
Undefeated NFL Coach, @SaturdayJeff, will be joining the show tomorrow.
Will be a very solid conversation I assume.
Be a friend, tell a friend.
Bill Cowher: ‘I’m Speaking on Behalf of the Coaching Profession’
McAfee is upset about Cowher calling out the 47-year-old Saturday, though the former Steelers head coach is likely equally as upset with Colts owner Jim Irsay, who made the decision to hire Saturday — Saturday is a former All-Pro center who played for the Colts for 13 years — despite an absence of significant coaching experience.
Here’s what Cowher said on CBS:
“You know, guys, I played in the National Football League for five years. I went on to become an assistant coach right from playing to coaching for seven years. I was blessed to be able to go to Pittsburgh and at the age of 34 become a head coach for 15 years. I’m speaking on behalf of the coaching profession,” he began, before claiming that Saturday declined past opportunities to become a Colts assistant, citing his television job and wanting to spend time with his family.
Then Cowher got very visibly upset, reprising the look and tone of voice that Steelers fans vividly recall from his days as Pittsburgh’s head coach.
“What does that say to the assistants on the staff right now? The guys that were there in training camp. The guys who were there late at night. The guys who have gone through the first (nine) weeks (of the season) in that building…?
“For an owner to hire a coach who has never been an assistant at the college level or the pro level, and over(looking) a lot of candidates that are qualified for that job … it’s a disgrace to the coaching profession,” Cowher concluded. “And regardless of how this plays out, what happened in Indianapolis is a travesty.”
“It’s a disgrace to the coaching profession.”
@CowherCBS‘s emotional reaction to the Colts hiring Jeff Saturday.
Cowher makes a good point, and one win — against the lowly 2-7 Raiders, no less — does not prove much of anything, especially since it does nothing to counter the former head coach’s arguments.
This could become an even more compelling back-and-forth if Cowher responds or if McAfee continues to tweak Cowher on his show. Stay tuned.