(Photo: Getty)

The balance that Bill Cowher has been able to achieve in his life post coaching is why he will never coach in professional football again.

Cowher, who currently lives with his wife in New York City, is currently an NFL an analyst for CBS Sports. In a recent interview withnewsday.com, he was asked if he will ever return to the game that saw him win 161 games and a Super Bowl title during his 15 seasons in Pittsburgh.

"Highly unlikely," said Cowher, who served as Pittsburgh's head coach for 15 seasons."I've got, as you can see, a life I'm very happy in, and a job I'm very blessed to be able to experience — the platform itself, and I love the people I work with, I love the people I work for and I love the job I have in covering the sport that I've known all my life.

"At the same time, while doing that, it does give me time in the offseason to do things I never could do before. I have a grandson who lives in the city, my daughter is here. So we're spending a lot of time with them.

"There's balance in my life here that I've never had before and that's pretty special . . . I never say never about things, but it's highly unlikely that I will coach again. I did it at a time, and I never looked back. I have no regrets whatsoever. I feel very good about that."

Cowher, 61, was just 34 years old when he became the Steelers' head coach in 1992. He was an instant success, as Pittsburgh won 11 games during his first season while making the playoffs in each of his first six seasons. During that span, the Steelers appeared in three AFC title games, winning the 1995 AFC championship and leading Pittsburgh to a near upset of the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX.

After three non-playoff seasons, Cowher's Steelers made the postseason four times during his final six seasons as coach that included a 13-3 record in 2001, a 15-1 regular record in 2004, and a victory in Super Bowl XL after his team became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl as a sixth seed. Cowher, who retired the following season, who succeeded by Mike Tomlin, who led the Steelers to their sixth Super Bowl title at the end of the 2008 season.

In a 2022 article written by Rolling Stone, Cowher was open and contrite about why he retired as head coach of the Steelers following the 2006 season. Having initially expressing his desire to spend more time with his family as his primary reason to step down, Cowher said that the time restrictions and years in the spotlight had become too much.

"I didn't really like where I was going with myself," Cowher said. "I'd walk around a lot with my head down. Wouldn't make eye contact. I felt like a little bit of a prisoner. You'd go into hotels and you don't go down to the lobby because you'd get recognized. It's just not a good place to be."

Cowher said that he would often get gas at night following Steelers' losses, not wanting to be recognized. He also said things like going to the mall with his family became too hard to do, given his job title and the Steelers' stature in Pittsburgh. Not wanting to sound ungrateful and unappreciative of the Steelers or its fans, Cowher did add that he "had the best job in the National Football League."

"I didn't mind the hours, but I didn't like the lifestyle," Cowher said. "I won a championship and I just felt like I got to the point where I couldn't go anywhere. It's like living in a fishbowl. Honestly, it's what it is. I look at what I have now, and it's living normal."

While he will probably never coach again, Cowher's legacy in Pittsburgh is as strong as ever, as Steeler Nation hasn't forgotten what his teams did during his time as the Steelers' head coach.