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KANSAS CITY, MO – JANUARY 30: CBS Sports analyst Bill Cowher before the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs on Jan 30, 2022 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 30 AFC Conference Championship – Bengals at Chiefs Icon2201300018
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KANSAS CITY, MO – JANUARY 30: CBS Sports analyst Bill Cowher before the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs on Jan 30, 2022 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 30 AFC Conference Championship – Bengals at Chiefs Icon2201300018
The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls between 1975 and 1980, and for a time, they even held the record for the most Lombardi Trophies. Despite that success, including two of those four Super Bowl wins over the Dallas Cowboys, it was Dallas who ended up with the “America’s Team” moniker. Now, after all this time, a Steelers legend has come forward to weigh in on which team actually deserves the label.
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“There’s such a history there, and it goes back to the start at the top with the Chief, the Dan, and the Art,” Bill Cowher said on The Christian Kuntz Show. “There’s such a great lineage of ownership that I don’t know. They are Pittsburgh’s team, or they are, I think, America’s team because they represent what family is all about. The core values of family, of community, of responsibility, of being a role model about doing the right thing. That to me is something that you can live with the rest of your life.”
This is a conversation that’s been a long time coming. Back in the earlier days, the Steelers were actually offered the “America’s Team” label first, particularly after their Super Bowl X win in 1976. But then-owner Art Rooney Sr. turned it down, insisting the franchise was simply “Pittsburgh’s team.”
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It’s the exact reflection of the identity he envisioned for the organization and exactly what Bill Cowher also touched on.
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According to Cowher, the franchise has always had strong ownership that focused on the core values, creating a bond between the players and the city. Being a Pittsburgh native, he knew how passionate the people were about the team. He experienced the franchise’s rise to fame in the 1970s, when the Steel City was in a state of industrial dominance.
Like Cowher, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger also weighed in on this back in 2020. He referred to Pittsburgh as the “world’s team” after the team won 24–19 over the Cowboys on November 8, 2020, at AT&T Stadium.
“I don’t want to take any shots at anybody, but if you didn’t know who America’s Team was, then you should’ve seen the stands and all the Terrible Towels. Dallas might be America’s Team, but we are the World’s Team.”
And for the record, it was NFL Films producer Bob Ryan who coined the term ‘America’s Team’ while preparing the Cowboys’ 1978 season highlight film. Ryan noticed that no matter where the Cowboys played, the stands were always filled with the fans donning their jerseys and hats. It came across as if the team’s popularity clearly extends far beyond Texas.
Similar to how Cowher and Roethlisberger were not afraid to strip Jerry Jones’ team of their title, another former Steelers coach had a bold statement about the 2008 team’s defense.
Dick LeBeau believes the 2008 Steelers defense was one of a kind
In 2006, Bill Cowher stepped down as the head coach to spend more time with his family. The franchise hired Mike Tomlin as the new head coach. Although there was an HC change, there was barely any coaching staff overhaul. It allowed former defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to stay under Cowher and Tomlin’s system.
The former DC completely transformed the defense, which helped the Steelers clinch Super Bowl XLIII. During a recent interview, he even went as far as to call it one of the best defenses ever.
“Nobody’s going to have as good a defense as we had with you guys,” said Dick LeBeau on the Deebo & Joe podcast via YouTube. “It’s in my book. Pick up the book and look at the stats, collectively and individually. Let’s put it this way. If I go to a high school game… they’re running zone blitzes… The difference is they don’t know what the hell they are doing behind the scenes.”
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Syndication: Massillon Independent Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee Dick LeBeau speaks at the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club. Monday, October 9, 2023. , EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKevinxWhitlockx/xMassillonxIndependentx USATSI_21609915
LeBeau was a part of the Super Bowl XL winning team, but it was the Super Bowl XLIII year that the defense truly shone. The Steelers topped almost every defense category.
They led the league in points allowed per game (13.9), yards allowed per game (237.2 YPG), and yards passing per game (156.9 YPG). Even individually, they were brilliant as well.
Linebacker James Harrison’s 16 sacks and 7 forced fumbles earned him the Defensive Player of the Year award. Troy Polamalu’s 73 tackles, 17 pass deflections, and 7 interceptions earned him a First-Team All-Pro selection.
All of this happened because of the Steelers legend’s “fire zone” strategy. Under this scheme, the defense performed intense quarterback pressures using multiple defensive backs and linebackers. But doing so would leave gaps in their coverage zones.
LeBeau also had a solution for that. When the DBs and LBs would charge, defensive linemen would drop into zone coverage. The opponent quarterback would have a hard time figuring out from where the defense would attack.
With defensive dominance, it is natural for the former DC to make this claim.
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Edited by
Kinjal Talreja