Bill Cowher knows plenty about what kind of competitor Ben Roethlisberger happens to be.
Cowher, of course, was head coach when the Steelers selected Roethlisberger in the first round of the 2004 draft with the idea he would eventually be the team's starting quarterback.
All Roethlisberger did that year was step in for an injured Tommy Maddox in Week 2 and proceed to lead the Steelers to 13 consecutive wins in games he started as the Steelers posted a franchise-best 15-1 record.
Now, with Roethlisberger 39 and just over a year removed from a major elbow surgery, there has been a lot of doubt bandied about regarding how much more he still has left in the tank. But Cowher, for one, isn't about to doubt his former starting quarterback.
"What you’ve see from him year after year is that he is a great competitor," Cowher said Tuesday during a press conference for his own induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in another month. "I’m sure he’s just thriving right now from everyone saying he’s done, the Steelers are done. I used to aways say to people that the greatest thing to do in sports is to do something nobody says you can do. I think right now, Ben is thriving right now. He’s probably champing at the bit to prove it.
"I would be very surprised if he didn’t have a great year this year. It’s a tough division. (But) he’s a Hall-of-Fame player, first-ballot. There’s no question about it. Two Super Bowls, been to three. But yet he continues to play the game with a great compassion as a great competitor. I can’t wait to see that this year."
That season will kick off for the Steelers in the Hall of Fame game Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio, against the Cowboys with Cowher, Troy Polamalu, Donnie Shell, Alan Faneca and Bill Nunn being inducted into the Hall of Fame that weekend as part of the 2020 and 2021 classes.
Roethlisberger obviously is a big part of why Cowher is going into the Hall of Fame. Prior to selecting Roethlisberger in the first round in 2004, Cowher had success, leading the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons and getting to a Super Bowl at the end of the 1995 season.
But Roethlisberger was the lynchpin. Though the 2004 season ended with a loss in the AFC Championship, the Steelers recovered from a 7-5 start the following season to win their fifth Super Bowl.
But even Cowher was surprised at the poise the young quarterback showed.
"When Ben came in there, my idea with Ben was that Philip Rivers could probably come in and start from Day 1. (Eli) Manning, from Day 1. They came from big-time programs," Cowher said. "Ben, OK, he came from the MAC. This was a great situation. We had Tommy Maddox to start. We also had Charlie Batch to back up, so he could be our third quarterback. As it unfolds, Charlie Batch gets hurt in the third preseason game and won’t be ready until the fourth game of the season. That’s fine. We’ll have a little package for Ben until Charlie gets back. Tommy goes down in Week 2. Now, ahead of Rivers, ahead of Eli, the guy I thought was supposed to sit a while was now starting."
And he's continued to start for the Steelers since. Manning retired after the 2019 season. Rivers after the 2020 season. Roethlisberger keeps going.
"What we gave him, we pared it back with what we gave him to just make sure he could get in and out of the huddle," Cowher said. "He was about to get us in and out of the huddle and manage games. He went from managing games to winning games. I was just amazed at not just his athleticism and size, but his feel for the game. He could see the field better than anybody. He was athletic. He was not afraid to make throws. It was not too big for him."
Being on the sideline with Roethlisberger, Polamalu and Faneca for that Hall of Fame weekend -- let alone Shell, as well (Nunn has passed away) -- will make for a special weekend for Cowher, who posted a 161-99-1 record as head coach of the Steelers from 1992 through 2006.
It's been somewhat of a long time coming. Cowher, Polamalu and Shell were voted into the Hall of Fame in 2020 as part of the NFL's Centennial Class. But because of COVID-19, their enshrinement was delayed. In the time since, Faneca and Nunn were voted into the Hall, a well.
The 2020 class will be enshrined Sat., Aug, 7, with the 2021 class going in the following day.
"The whole enshrinement weekend, you’re talking about initially going in there with two safeties, Troy Polamalu and Donnie Shell. Kind of of being a defensive guy at heart, was pretty special," Cowher said. "Then for Alan Faneca and Bill Nunn to come in, it’s going to be a special weekend. Then the fact that the Cowboys are playing the Steelers on Thursday and Jimmy also will be going in. We’ll be on the sidelines for the Thursday game and getting ready to kick off the 2021 season. Saturday will be a special day, as will Sunday."
Sundays were always special to Cowher as a coach. He enjoyed the process leading up to each game in his time as a coach. He enjoyed the game even more.
But he walked away from coaching after the 2006 season, a year after winning the Super Bowl, to spend more time with his family. Not even yet 50, he was done as a football coach.
And yet, Cowher has no regrets. He got to see his three daughters more often. His wife, Kaye, was battling illnesses, succumbing to skin cancer in 2010 at the age of 54.
Soon after leaving the sideline, Cowher was hired by CBS as a game-day studio analyst. It's a position he holds to this day.
"I miss the game on Sundays. I miss the practices. I don’t miss the lifestyle," he said. "I think that’s the one thing, the reason I stepped down. At the time, my life was not in a great place. I put family ahead of football. I love what I do at CBS. I love talking about football. But I also love that when the season’s over, I have time to do other things I could not do when I was coaching because it’s a full-time job outside of 3 or 4 weeks you get off in the summer.
"I have so much more balance in my life than I had. I don’t think I ever was close to going back. I miss the game. I love talking about the game. I love sharing my wisdom with other coaches who are going through the processes sometimes in the offseason. I’m a big fan of the NFL, not of a particular team, of the NFL. Young coaches, if there’s any questions I have, I’m there to listen and share my viewpoints. I never came that close to going back."
But for that one last time Aug. 5, he'll be on the Steelers' sideline for the Hall of Fame game.
Jimmy Johnson, former head coach of the Cowboys, will be on the other as part of the Centennial Class.
Maybe they'll both get a shot to make a play call in what is a meaningless preseason game.
"I’ll let Jimmy call a play and then let me have one blitz," Cowher joked. "I just want one blitz. I’ll grab (former Steelers defensive coordinator) Dick LeBeau — I’m sure he’ll be there — Dick and I will be on the sideline and we’ll call one blitz in the game. We’ll see if we can get Mike (Tomlin) to run one. It will be fun."
