Tomlin's first year coaching Steelers similar to Cowher's
CBSSports.com wire reports
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin never publicly mentions Bill Cowher's name unless he is asked specifically about him, though it is certainly not for a lack of respect.
Tomlin is trying to put his stamp on the NFL as a head coach, rather than attempting to imitate the very successful coach before him. That's almost exactly the same path Cowher followed after succeeding Chuck Noll in 1992.
What's curious is, with Tomlin's first regular season as Steelers coach ending with Sunday's game at Baltimore, how similar his first season and Cowher's first in 1992 are becoming.
A coincidence? Maybe. A sign Tomlin is developing into the coach Cowher was while taking the Steelers to the postseason 10 times in 15 years, appearing in five AFC Championships Games and winning one Super Bowl. Maybe that, too.
"I live week to week," Tomlin said. "That's the world I live in."
A world that, considering the similarities between Cowher's rookie season in 1992 and Tomlin's in 2007, has been much like the one in which the Steelers lived 15 years ago:
• Cowher inherited a team that didn't finish with a winning record (7-9) the prior season under a long-successful coach and immediately got them into the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Tomlin's Steelers, coming off an 8-8 season under Cowher, will finish 11-5 if they beat the Ravens (4-11) on Sunday.
• The 1992 Steelers started 6-2, were 7-3 after 10 games, then faltered a bit down the stretch with two losses in their final three games. These Steelers started 6-2, were 7-3 after 10 games and faltered a bit down the stretch with two losses in three games before beating St. Louis 41-24 on Thursday.
• Both teams were 3-1 after four games, 6-2 after eight games and 9-3 after 12 games.
• Both the 1992 Steelers and 2007 Steelers ended a string of multiple years without a division title by knocking off a favored team to win their division; in 1992 it was Houston, this year it was Baltimore.
• The '92 Steelers sent four players to the Pro Bowl; five Steelers were chosen this year, though RB Willie Parker (broken leg) won't play.
• Both teams dealt with a key injury to an important offensive starter late in the season. It was quarterback Neil O'Donnell in 1992, this season it's Parker, the NFL rushing leader at the time of his season-ending injury Thursday.
• Both coaches were credited for getting the most out of the players they had, and each turned a former backup into a star. In 1992, running back Barry Foster was a former backup who developed into a Pro Bowl player (though not until a season later) after finally getting the chance to start under Cowher; in 2007, linebacker James Harrison accomplished the very same thing under Tomlin
