"Hey, get back in here," my brother yelled to me. "You have to see what the Steelers just did!" I had left the room for a few minutes on the afternoon of September 6, 1992. The Steelers were opening their season in Houston in typical Steelers fashion. The Oilers had jumped out to a 14-0 lead and were on their way to yet another victory over lowly Pittsburgh. It had been this way for a while now. Ever since the clock struck midnight on the 1970's, the Steelers had plodded along with mediocre teams who compiled multiple losing seasons. They won two playoff games between 1980 and 1991, but other than that they didn't have much to show for the previous 12 seasons. Due to the ongoing frustration of never being able to recapture the magic of the 1970's, legendary head coach Chuck Noll called it quits in the spring of 1992. His successor, a young and feisty coach from Crafton named Bill Cowher, wasn't expected to do much better.

Cowher's firey enthusiasm was obvious from the start.

When the Oilers took their double-digit lead in that first game, I mentally prepared myself for another long season. Having been born in the late 1970's, it was all I knew as a Steelers fan. All the stories of 1970's glory were just stories to me. My reality was the disappointment of seeing the Steelers continually fall behind Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Houston in the powerful AFC Central Division. I left the room to help my dad move some furniture, not caring if I missed a few plays of Houston's blowout. So I missed it. I missed the moment when the franchise completely turned around.

Mark Royals was the Steelers punter in that game. When the offense stalled yet again, Royals trotted onto the field to kick the ball back to Warren Moon and company. But then something strange happened - Royals faked the punt and instead threw the ball to RB Warren Williams, who was completely wide open in the middle of the field. Williams ran the ball down deep into Houston territory, which set up a Barry Foster touchdown run. The rest was history. The Steelers used the momentum from that play to complete the comeback and win the game 29-24.

The significance of that fake punt went way beyond a momentum shift over the Oilers. As great of a coach as Noll was, he would have never attempted something that crazy. The Steelers had become so predictable during the 1980's that you could yell out their next play with about a 90% accuracy rate. Cowher wasn't about to dramatically change things - the Steelers would still tailor their style towards a running the ball and playing stout defense - but the new coach bought flare and enthusiasm. He ran onto the field to yell at refs, celebrated with players on the sidelines, and generally spit in just about every direction! One thing was certain: the Steelers of Bill Cowher were not going to be losers anymore.

Cowher's first team would win the AFC Central. Two years later, they would dominate the conference on their way to an AFC Championship Game at Three Rivers Stadium. They were heavy favorites to beat the upstart San Diego Chargers, but they lost in brutal fashion. That started a discouraging trend for Cowher. He would go on to lose three more conference title games, all at home.

Cowher would make it to a Super Bowl in 1995 following one of the more dramatic wins in team history, a 20-16 nailbiter over the Indianapolis Colts. But when Neil O'Donnell threw two interceptions in Super Bowl XXX, the Steelers came up short once again. One of the definining images of Cowher's career will always be the NFL Films shot where his little girl tries to console him after the game.

The next decade would bring up's and down's for Cowher. The team lost some key free agents and went into a two-year slide during which Cowher's job was called into question for the first time. He also survived a "it's either him or me" battle with GM Tom Donahoe and eventually proved that the Rooney's made the right decision when he rebuilt the team into a contender for the new millenium.

By the time the 2005 season began, Cowher had experienced just about everything in pro football. There were many legendary moments - Al Del Greco, the Buffalo Monday night games, the hail mary, Kevin Henry, the Baltimore rivalry, the mulligan, the comeback, Doug Brien, and anything involving Vinny Testaverde. There were many heartbreaking moments - Eric Metcalf, the blocked punt in Kansas City, Dennis Gibson, Larry Brown, the Kent Grahm disaster, the special teams fiasco, the Academy Award game, and anything involving Steve McNair. There were even a bunch of crazy moments - stuffing the picture in the ref's shirt (against Minnesota), Shayne Edge, Chris Hudson, the coin flip controversy, the tie, the 47 yards game, and anything involving Greg Lloyd. The one thing Cowher had never produced, however, was a championship.

Cowher finally reached the pinnacle in Super Bowl XL.

Everyone knows what happened next. After the Steelers started 7-5, Cowher led his team on the single greatest run in NFL history. They won the final four games of the regular season and beat the top three seeds in the AFC playoffs, which included - once again - one of the more dramatic wins in team history, a 21-18 nailbiter over the Indianapolis Colts. Finally Cowher had another shot at glory. His career came full circle when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL on - what else? - a trick play, just like he used in that very first game so many years ago.

Now Bill Cowher has elected to leave the Steelers. He says he wants to spend more time with his family, although he did seem to leave the door open for a potential return to the NFL someday. Whatever he decides to do with his future, I wish him the very best (unless of course he comes back to coach Cincinnati in two years!). When Noll retired, I remember thinking how strange it would be to actually have a different head coach walking the sidelines on Sundays, and now I'm thinking the same thing regarding Cowher's departure. All I can say is thanks to you, coach. It's been one hell of a ride, and you will always hold a special place in your hometown.