Detroit – Before examining the gist of Bill Cowher’s first Super Bowl championship, it is worth pondering the impact of dynamic receivers in the NFL and in the past two title games.
Deion Branch of the New England Patriots was the Super Bowl XXXIX MVP.
Hines Ward of Pittsburgh swiped the title Sunday in Super Bowl XL.
It was Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis who offered the most prophetic XL analysis before kickoff. He told me that Pittsburgh was a near lock to win the game, in his estimation, because Seattle did not have the receivers to gain big chunks of yardage against Pittsburgh. Lewis said big plays were the only way to melt the Pittsburgh defense, because it was too good to drive the length of the field against in repeated fashion.
And he was right.
Only Seahawk Joe Jurevicius averaged more than 12 yards per catch against Pittsburgh.
And Seattle, which led all NFL teams in regular-season scoring with 452 points and averaged 28.3 points, managed only 10 against Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL.
After Ward had gathered his MVP trophy and was exiting, I had the chance to visit with him about the Broncos’ interest in Terrell Owens. Ward smiled.
“When you look at Deion last year and my game this year, it tells you that receivers are coloring the NFL in big games in big ways nowadays,” Ward said. “During my career in Pittsburgh, I’ve heard a lot about Lynn Swann and John Stallworth and how I wasn’t in their class because they had Super Bowl rings and they had made Super Bowl-winning plays. Now I can say the same about me. Now I’ve joined them.
“So, it makes sense the Broncos would be interested in a talent like T.O. They want to win. This is how you win.”
Moments later, Cowher was talking about all of the talented teams and tough teams he has coached in his 14 years at Pittsburgh that never achieved championship status.
“This is the closest team I’ve ever had,” Cowher said. “That means something.”
As the Broncos flirt with Owens, they confront two conflicting concepts. Owens the game-changer. Owens the divider of locker rooms. Can the Broncos grab him, get the first and squelch the second?
The answers are not clear. We do not know how much, if any, Owens has grown from his humiliating experience of being dropped cold by the Eagles during last season. We do know his pure football value surpasses that of Branch and Ward.
Hence, the Broncos’ interest.
And exploration.
The Broncos would be stupid not to consider such a talent at this critical position.
And, if they step forward, do so with eyes wide open.
Let the numbers crunching and psychological/sociological evaluations continue.
Back to Cowher.
I met him during his stint as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator from 1989-91. Cowher used to devise elaborate schemes that nearly always featured linebacker Derrick Thomas zooming in hard from the edges. Thus, as we talked before he walked to the podium Monday for his next-day Super Bowl news conference, the conversation quickly turned to the late Thomas.
“What do you think Derrick would say about this?” Cowher was asked.
“Oh, he’d be proud,” Cowher said. “He’d give me a big hug. Do you think he will ever get into the Hall of Fame?”
He should already be in, I answered.
“I agree,” Cowher said.
And then he walked to the microphone and soon began talking about San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer, the only coach Cowher has worked for, Cowher said, for four NFL seasons in Cleveland and then those in Kansas City. Cowher emphasized that a coach should be judged by his body of work, not only if he wins a Super Bowl.
It was an intriguing thought because Cowher has been judged harshly for losing four AFC championship games and a Super Bowl, not his 153 Pittsburgh career victories.
“If I had lost this game, would I have been labeled a loser?” he asked.
Yes. In some circles, he already was labeled that.
So, this XL triumph fills a void for Cowher, moves him closer to Canton, validates his work and his style. He said he will use the next few days to reflect in ways that he seldom has allowed himself to do over the years. He said he is humbled to join the grand list of coaches who have won Super Bowls.
It is about toughness with Cowher. This team had more of that than his others. It won three consecutive road playoff games against higher-seeded teams en route to becoming the first No. 6 playoff seed to win the Super Bowl.
“We were a No. 6 seed, but we could have been a No. 1 seed,” Cowher said. “We were the best team on the day we played our opponents. You see trends, see success and see how you can incorporate that into your own identity. I don’t think teams will look at us as champions and restructure or reinvent themselves. But whatever people do take from us, we’d be flattered.”
It is apparent that Pittsburgh’s scouting department is one worth mirroring. The Steelers find players who fit their mold, tough players, productive players. More teams should use productivity as their first benchmark in acquiring talent. It is the difference-maker.
Sounds like we are back to T.O.
“The burden for me are the losses, not the labels,” Cowher said.
Burden lifted.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
