Cowher Power

Now, Cowher, should he want to come back to the sidelines, wields the most leverage of any candidate on the market. Nobody out there could command what he may be able to command. And the opportunities will be there. Already, Chiefs fans are hoping that Carl Peterson is only the first of two dominoes to fall. The one they seem to be talking up most on message boards and on the comments sections of online articles and blog posts as the desired replacement for “Herm the Germ?” You got it, he of the notable scowl.

The rumblings are even louder in Cleveland, with the noise reaching such decibels that mainstream sites are finding themselves compelled to comment on what are apparently rumors and only rumors. Even though Dick Jauron snagged a contract extension earlier this season, I’ve read the rants of Bills fans, disenchanted with their team’s collapse, espousing the perfect solution for the Buffalo franchise. Yep. You guessed him?

Seemingly half the League is being led by men whose jobs, if not seriously in jeopardy, are certainly less than stable. Would Cowher be the right man in Big D should the Cowboys sputter in their final two games? He would certainly be the antithesis of Wade Phillips. Personally, we’d be intrigued by the Jones/Cowher dynamic. What about teams with long traditions and loyal fan bases, like Green Bay or Washington? And then of course there’s the much more real positions that will be coming open in Cincy, San Diego, Detroit and St. Louis. Cowher to Jacksonville? Who knows?

Point is, you’ve got a potential Hall of Fame coach (debatable) who is only 51 years old and only a few years removed from a Super Bowl. He’s sitting in the booth, a tantalizing shiny toy in the window for those looking to kick-start their team or elevate a winner to elite status.

Cowher seems to like his perch as the wild card favorite, content for now to simply watch the carousel go round and round. The question is: where will it stop? Wherever and whenever it does, chances are the cash register will be ringing to a pleasant tune for Coach Cowher.