Tim Peeler: Reflecting on Bill Cowher's career before his induction into NC State Ring of Honor

When NC State adds former linebacker Bill Cowher’s name to the Carter-Finley Stadium Ring of Honor, he will take his place as a unique player, coach and television analyst among the highest-performing stars in Wolfpack football history.

His name will be unveiled Friday night during the Wolfpack’s game with Louisville.

The Crafton, Pennsylvania, native is the only Wolfpack player elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the game’s highest honor, primarily for his coaching career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who he twice took to the Super Bowl.

Though he was never named to an All-Atlantic Coast Conference squad, Cowher was an exceptional linebacker during the 1970s. He was recruited by head coach Lou Holtz and played three years for successor Bo Rein.

Nearly a half century after his career ended, he still ranks seventh on the all-time career tackles list with 371, holds the single-season tackle record with 195 and owns the second-highest single-game tackle record with 24 against South Carolina in 1977 and Clemson in 1978.

He and Kyle Wescoe, from opposite ends of Pennsylvania, were a fearsome combination during their final three seasons, ending their career with a sentimental victory over their home-state school, Pittsburgh, in the 1978 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando.

Cowher spent a year as a graduate assistant at NC State in 1979 to finish his bachelor’s degree in education but gained a foothold in the NFL as a special teams player for the Cleveland Browns in 1980. He spent two years with the Philadelphia Eagles, ending with a total of 45 career games played.

When Cowher finished playing, Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer immediately hired him to be the Browns’ special teams coach. When Schottenheimer left to become head coach at Kansas City, he took Cowher along as one of the NFL’s youngest defensive coordinators.

Cowher began what turned out to be a relatively short grind as an assistant coach, spending time in those years starting a family with former NC State women’s basketball player Kaye Young. The couple had three daughters, all of whom attended Wolfpack women’s head coach Kay Yow’s basketball camp in their youth.

At the exceptionally young age of 35, the Rooney family hired Cowher to replace legendary head coach Chuck Noll as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992. The Rooneys had a longtime tie with the Wolfpack, dating back to the 1930s when Artie Rooney, first cousin and adoptive son of Steelers owner Art Rooney, was a three-year starting quarterback.

He became the first head coach in NFL history to lead his team into the playoffs his first six seasons. In 15 years, he built a 161-99-1 overall record, with 12 of those wins and nine losses in the playoffs. He was twice named NFL Coach of the Year, just as former NC State player Alex Webster was when he served as head coach of the New York Giants.

In 1995, at the age of 38, Cowher became the youngest head coach to take his team to a Super Bowl, though they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. He honored his roots by leaving Yow two tickets to the game in Tempe, Arizona. He did the same in 2006, when the Steelers returned to the title game, but Yow’s Wolfpack Women’s team had a game that day.

On Feb. 5, 2006, the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 for Cowher’s only title as a player or coach. 

A year after the Super Bowl win, Cowher announced his retirement as a coach, moving back to Raleigh and taking a job as a CBS television analyst, joining a long list of former NC State student-athletes and coaches who have entered the broadcasting field. That list includes Bones McKinney, Bucky Waters, Debbie Antonelli, Terry Gannon, Jerry Punch, Johnny Evans, Jim Valvano, Lou Holtz, Dereck Whittenburg, Vinny Del Negro, Dan Plesac and Ernie Myers.

Cowher’s 16-year broadcasting career has now eclipsed the length of his coaching tenure.

The high point of his time on camera came in 2020, when he was told on-air that he had been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, becoming the first NC State player or coach to earn that honor.

What makes Cowher unique among the 12 NC State Ring of Honor selections is that it encompasses all three facets of his life in football: player, coach and broadcaster. Every other selection was based on playing careers.

Others honored by Wolfpack football are Dick Christy (40), Roman Gabriel (18), Dennis Byrd (77), Bill Yoest (63), Ted Brown (23), Jim Ritcher (51), Torry Holt (81), Philip Rivers (17), Mario Williams (9), Russell Wilson (16) and Bradley Chubb (9). The first eight of those have their jerseys retired, while Williams, Chubb and Wilson have their names stitched onto the jerseys of anyone currently wearing their number.

“What a tremendous honor it is to be inducted to the Ring of Honor at Carter-Finley Stadium,” Cowher said. “It is a legendary list of past honorees.”

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].