Remember when Bill Cowher inherited Chuck Noll’s players?

Mike Tomlin’s detractors always find a new angle. As the head coach steps down from 19 winning seasons leading the Pittsburgh Steelers, his critics are still as vocal as ever. Not unlike any other offseason, a playoff loss has brought out the worst of them, who then drag former Steelers, and Hall of Fame, head coach Bill Cowher into the conversation, as if comparing eras somehow proves a point.

With little else to debate, the old “Tomlin won with Cowher’s players” line inevitably resurfaces. Despite Cowher missing the postseason in his last year as the Steelers head coach, critics of Mike Tomlin will always point out how he “inherited” a Super Bowl winning roster, despite many of the 2006 Cowher players not being a part of the 2005 championship roster, or the various other players that were added in the two seasons that Tomlin took over.

By why is the spotlight never placed on Cowher? The argument ignores the reality that both coaches shared far more similarities than their critics want to admit. And if inheriting talent is a disqualifier, then Cowher’s early years deserve the same scrutiny.

Tomlin gets hammered for playoff exits, but Cowher struggled in big moments too — dropping four AFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl before finally breaking through. The idea that one coach faced adversity while the other coasted simply doesn’t hold up.

Mind you, this article isn’t “whataboutism” so much as it’s placing everyone on a level playing field.

Tomlin didn’t walk into a finished product any more than Cowher did. What he inherited were cornerstone pieces — a franchise quarterback, a generational safety, and a reliable tight end — but the rosters that reached Super Bowl XLIII and XLV were largely rebuilt in his image. The defense evolved, the offensive identity shifted, and the supporting cast changed almost entirely from the group Cowher left behind.

Cowher experienced the same dynamic with Chuck Noll. He benefited from a handful of foundational players, but the teams that carried him to multiple AFC Championship Games were shaped by his own drafts, his own coordinators, and his own philosophy. Both coaches built on what came before them, just as every successful coach in NFL history has done.

The through‑line isn’t that one coach “inherited” greatness. It’s that sustained success in Pittsburgh has always come from adapting, developing, and retooling — not from a single roster, a single era, or a single coach. Tomlin wasn’t the only Steelers head coach to walk into a stable situation when it comes to good and/or great players already on the roster.

When Cowher took over for Chuck Noll in 1992, he didn’t inherit an empty cupboard either. The roster already featured future Hall of Famers like Rod Woodson and Dermontti Dawson — cornerstone talents who would anchor the early years of his tenure.

Beyond them, the Steelers’ depth chart was stocked with established contributors and several players who would go on to become Hall of Famers, franchise staples or notable contributors in Cowher’s coaching career footnotes:

• Adrian Cooper
• Aaron Jones
• Barry Foster
• Carnell Lake
• Carlton Haselrig
• D.J. Johnson
• David Little
• Donald Evans
• Dwight Stone
• Eric Green
• Gary Anderson
• Greg Lloyd
• Hardy Nickerson
• Jeff Graham
• Jerrol Williams
• Jerry Olsavsky
• Justin Strzelczyk
• Leroy Thompson
• Merril Hoge
• Neil O’Donnell

While some of these players would stick around for a year or so following Cowher’s hiring in 1992, others would be key to the first several years of his Steelers tenure.

Neil O’Donnell may not be remembered fondly by most fans, but he was an established quarterback who guided the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX. History has nearly forgotten that he was one of the highest-paid at his position, and that his contract with the Steelers caused some in-house issues with re-signing Rod Woodson. Infamously, it was also the contract O’Donnell didn’t sign with the Steelers, leaving for the New York Jets, that also made headlines.

Drafted by Noll in 1990, Barry Foster wasn’t just a solid back — he was one of the league’s most productive runners at his peak.

In 1992, he led the AFC in rushing and finished only 23 yards behind Emmitt Smith for the NFL rushing title, a remarkable feat considering the Steelers’ offense was still transitioning under a new coaching staff. Foster’s breakout season helped stabilize the unit and gave Cowher a true workhorse to lean on, setting the tone for the power‑run identity that defined much of the early 90s Steelers.

Greg Lloyd wasn’t just a good linebacker — he became one of the defining defensive forces of the 1990s. Drafted by Chuck Noll in 1987, Lloyd developed into the heartbeat of Pittsburgh’s defense, setting the tone with his intensity, physicality, and relentless motor. By the time Cowher arrived, Lloyd had already emerged as a premier pass rusher and emotional leader, eventually forming a feared tandem with Kevin Greene. His rise from a mid‑round pick to an All‑Pro cornerstone is one of the clearest examples of how the Steelers’ defensive identity carried across coaching eras.

Final Remarks

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had only three head coaches in more than 55 years — a level of stability that has become the blueprint for building a winning organization.

Debates about who drafted which player miss the bigger picture. Each coach had shortcomings, sure, but each also left a lasting imprint on the franchise, handing the team off to the next leader with a foundation strong enough to build upon. Every successor added their own chapter to a legacy that includes an NFL‑record six Super Bowl championships.

Here’s to hoping that the Steelers current coaching search leads to the same stability and avoids the ridiculous arguments of inheriting another coach’s roster.