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Players still believe in Cowher
Loyal to coach
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Jerry DiPaola is the Tribune-Review high school sports editor. He can be reached via e-mail.
"We are 4-7 and our attitude is like we are 7-4," von Oelhoffen said, "just because everybody here believes in Cowher."
The Steelers' season has been sliding off course since back-to-back home losses to the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns in Weeks 4 and 5, and Cowher has been the target of much criticism. But none of it comes from the team's front office or its locker room, only from those who never have listened to one of his speeches.
When Cowher stands up in front of the team for his weekly address, every eye is riveted on him, according to many of those players who attend such meetings. "He hooks you, oh, yeah," von Oelhoffen said.
The 2003 season will be recorded as, perhaps, the worst of Cowher's 12 years in Pittsburgh, but it also will vault him farther up the list of the all-time winningest coaches in NFL history.
With a 120-81-1 record, Cowher is 22nd in victories among anyone who ever has coached in the league. He passed Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen two weeks ago in the victory against the Arizona Cardinals. With three more victories, he will tie Hall of Famer Sid Gillman, who is currently 20th . Among the 32 active coaches, only Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren have won more games. Holmgren is 21st with 121.
And when he meets one of his former pupils Sunday at Heinz Field when Lewis brings his first-place Bengals to town, he will carry a 41-15 record against three AFC North teams, including Cincinnati (17-6), the Browns (13-5) and Baltimore Ravens (11-4).
Lewis, who coached under Cowher from 1992 through 1995, is one of five former Cowher aides who have advanced to become a head coach in the NFL, including Jim Haslett of the New Orleans Saints, Dom Capers of the Houston Texans, former Dallas Cowboys coach Chan Gailey and former Bengals coach Dick LeBeau. The number of Cowher assistants who have run their own programs is six, if you count former Steelers special teams coach Ron Zook, the head coach at the University of Florida.
The key to a successful coach, according to von Oelhoffen, has more to do with his relationship with his players than a weekly game plan.
"You have to believe in your coach," he said, pointing out that the Bengals' belief in Lewis is largely responsible for their 6-5 record. "You have to believe in what he is telling you. That's the only way you are going to be able to trust what the other 11 guys on the field with you are doing because they understand and you understand. (Teams) all start from the top."
There has been much criticism of Cowher's play-calling, personnel deployment and basic strategy this season, but von Oelhoffen said the Steelers' season goes far beyond that.
"At this point, it's not up the coaches. It's up to the players. The coaches are doing their job. Cowher is being as strong as a man can be right now. It's just up to the players to go play.
"This week (before the victory against the Browns), he said some things that really, really brought that out," said von Oelhoffen, who refused to reveal details.
After joining the Steelers in 2000 as a free agent from the Bengals, von Oelhoffen has become one of the most reliable players on the team, missing one game in nearly four seasons. This season, von Oelhoffen, who is two months shy of his 33rd birthday, leads Steelers defensive linemen with a career-high five sacks.
"(Cowher) renewed my whole career, coming here," he said. "His lessons, his approach, his demeanor, his philosophy. I think if he wasn't coaching football, he would be one of the best motivational speakers traveling around the country. Because he knows what to say and when to say it."
