Heart and Steel by Bill Cowher

Author:Bill Cowher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2021-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

10 How to Adapt and Still Win

NFL head coaches have been multitasking longer than the term has been in use. Major League Baseball got it right whenever it began to describe its team leaders as “managers.” That’s exactly the job of a head coach in pro football: manager of… everything.

In season, during a typical game, the head coach manages his staff, his players, the clock, and the rhythm of the game. He weighs a continuous stream of information—from numerous sources—that he instantly evaluates and turns into a decision. Every aspect of the game, no matter how minute, requires his attention and approval: offense, defense, kicking game, available players, injuries (and replacements).

The job is perfect if you like talking to yourself.

Do I use a time-out here?

Should I throw a challenge flag?

Can my kicker make it from here against the wind?

It’s fourth and a foot; is this the time to go for it?

What are the terms if we accept this penalty?

Nothing prepares you for the quick-pace chaos and exhilaration of the sideline except doing it. And then doing it again and again.

Remember, I said that’s for a typical game. Real life doesn’t work that way, though. Once the games are over and players go their separate ways into the off-season, coaches are the sole decision makers. It adds even more unpredictability to the head coach’s job because, most of the time, when you get a call about a player in the off-season, good news doesn’t usually follow.

That’s what happened at the beginning of my fifth season in the spring of 1996. I learned that our starting running back, Bam Morris, had been taken into custody in Texas. During a traffic stop, police said they found between five and fifty pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the car Bam owned and was driving. Another passenger was in the car as well.

I never sensed or had any issues with Bam, so I was surprised by the report. At twenty-four, he found himself in a position certain to affect his career. We couldn’t jump to conclusions about guilt, but we also couldn’t wait. Free agency had begun and the college draft was only three weeks away. This was the major period of roster management, and unexpectedly, running back shot to the top of our priorities list. And after coming so close in Super Bowl XXX, we had lots of priorities. Some bills were coming due, and the reality was that we couldn’t pay all our important players.

After another solid season as our starting quarterback, Neil O’Donnell headed to free agency. I’d been comfortable with Neil as our quarterback, but we’d spent a second-round pick on Kordell Stewart and believed in his upside. We also had Mike Tomczak and Jim Miller to compete for the job. I was happy for Neil: He was twenty-nine and had a lot of teams willing to commit to him long-term with a significant salary. I didn’t think it made sense to spend that much of our cap money on him.

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