Jerome Bettis has long been convinced that his former Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher, will eventually be in charge of the New York Giants.
This past January, Bettis first stirred the rumor pot.
"That’s the team that [Cowher] really coveted," Bettis said of the Giants. "This is where he always wanted to be. The Mara family, he’s been very close to them … He’s known them very well and was on the inside track — before the Giants won the Super Bowl — for that job. And I think he’s holding out for that opportunity if it presents itself.
"He would have definitely gotten the job [after the 2007 season, if the Giants hadn’t gone on a run]," Bettis added. "And if [Tom] Coughlin doesn’t get that team back in the right direction next year I think they’ll pull the plug."
After the Giants' ugly and undisciplined loss on Sunday, speculation is continuing to grow that things are moving in that direction.
Accordingly, Bettis chimed in again on Monday.
"I can tell Coach Cowher misses the game," Bettis wrote for SI.com. "Could he enter a rebuilding situation? Yes, but with prerequisites. He needs a proven quarterback, and because of that I look at Eli Manning and the Giants. If that team keeps heading in its current direction, a coaching change is going to be imminent. "
But if the Giants to grab him, Bettis believes one of their biggest rivals could.
"Some people point to Dallas as a possibility for Cowher, but I'm not so sure," he explained. "Coach Cowher is very used to a certain type of ownership. The Rooney family provided him leeway in Pittsburgh and let him handle football decisions. I don't see Coach Cowher and Jerry Jones being on the same page."
With the Cowboys at 1-2 through three weeks, rumors of Wade Phillips being replaced are also surfacing. Those rumors, though, seem more frequently to involve Jon Gruden.
All rumors aside, Cowher certainly does want back into football — he's just not sure where.
"With every year, there becomes a little bit more of a void because you do miss it," he remarked. "I am not going to go back into coaching, just to go back into coaching … It has to be the right situation. And I don't know what the right situation consists of."
