Cowher gives his approval to the Ben Roethlisberger suspension
Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher joined the Boomer & Carton show on WFAN today to discuss Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension and whether or not he thinks Roethlisberger (pictured) will be traded. Cowher also weighed in on how Roethlisberger was received in the locker room during Cowher’s tenure as head coach.
Here are the highlights, courtesy of sportsradiointerviews.com:
Cowher on the six-game suspension handed down to Roethlisberger, a punishment that can be reduced to four games if Roethlisberger meets certain conditions:
“I think it’s good in my personal opinion. I think it sends a very strong message that your conduct is something that you’re going to be held accountable for. It was well documented what took place, obviously no charges have been filed to this point, but that still does not dismiss any NFL player from the responsibilities that come from their actions when they’re in the public eye. I think Commissioner Goodell has taken a very strong stance in the past and I think he’s doing that right now. I think it got the endorsement of the Pittsburgh Steelers and everybody else. I think right now it’s up to Ben to deal with the punishment that has been handed out, to adhere to whatever these guidelines are that he must adhere to, and to try to make this a four game suspension as opposed to six. That would be in the best interest of the football team and that’s what he owes to his teammates. That being said, I would think he would do that. They could see something was coming down. They went out and got Byron Leftwich and it’s either going to be him or (Dennis)
Cowher on whether he believes
“I do not. I think the message was very loud and clear that they are very disappointed to have to go through this. I think he’s got an opportunity to rekindle his reputation. He’s a young player, he’s made some very poor judgments in the last few years, and if he’s ever going to learn from something, he’ll learn from this. I think they’re gonna give him the opportunity to do that.”
Cowher on whether or not Roethlisberger was liked within the organization:
“You know what Boom, I think we like anybody that can help us win football games. I think there’s no question that this guy, on the football field is tremendously respected by his teammates and he’s respected by opponents. He’s a talent. The guy is an unbelievable competitor. He’s got a great feel for the game, but certainly with some of the things that have been brought on in the last couple of years, it kinda puts a damper on it. I think again, as you know, the bottom line is trying to win football games. You have young single guys and you have people that have three kids, the dynamics of every locker room are a little bit different. Usually when 4:00 comes or 4:30 comes, everybody goes their separate ways. The one thing you want to make sure the players do is they don’t do anything to dampen your ability to win football games. What Ben has done is put himself in a situation where he’s gonna miss six games. Hopefully he’ll do the right thing and minimize that to four.”
Cowher on why he thinks the Steelers will hang on to Roethlisberger as opposed to trading him:
“I think the circumstances are something where there’s no reason to say they wouldn’t but I would be very surprised. This is a guy that was brought up and again there’s no way they would condone his actions, but at the same time, this is a behavioral thing. There’s been no drugs involved, there’s been no series of events of that nature. They made a very big investment in Ben. Again, I think he’s a guy that has proven to be a big commodity on the field and certainly want to get him to be the leader off the field. I think they still believe in him. I think that’s what is the bottom line. If there were a trade to be made, it would show that they really feel like they have exasperated every opportunity to try to change him. I still believe that they feel like he will learn from this and they can move forward with him as their quarterback.”
