A lot of us were dissatisfied with Cowher's playoff record until he finally broke through and ran the table in 2005. But look at the playoff losses that irk us so much:
- The big one - 1994 AFC Championship at home to a mediocre San Diego team. Lost 17-13. Steelers had Neil O'Donnell at QB, had the ball at the 3-yard line and failed on 4th down.
- 1995 - lost the Super Bowl to the heavily favored Cowgirls 27-17. But the onside kick and the TD making the game 21-17, and the subsequent defensive stop giving the Steelers the ball again and a chance to take the lead but for ... another bad interception by O'Donnell.
- 1997 - lost to Denver at home in AFC Championship game 24-21 with Kordell Stewart at QB, playing against John Elway. Should have run the ball more when pushing Denver's defense around.
- 2001 - losing to the ******* Patsies at home in the AFC Championship game, 24-17, with Kordell Stewart at QB and against a 2nd year Brady.
Those losses stunk, but what do they have in common? Every game, the Steelers were competitive. Every game, the Steelers had ... limitations at QB. The Steelers were not routed by a mediocre QB, and not embarrassed.
Bill Cowher's failures would be deemed incredible coaching successes for Tomlin.