Cowher still interested in coaching

Former N.C. State linebacker and ex-Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher said Friday that he has a “very good job” as a CBS analyst, but he certainly hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching.

Cowher, who lives in Raleigh, showed up for a spring practice session that was attended by many former players as part of the football program’s alumni weekend. New N.C. State chancellor Randy Woodson also attended and met Cowher at the practice.

With regard to coaching again, Cowher – who hasn’t coached since the 2006 season - says it’s a year-to-year situation.

"I’m very much open minded to it year in and year out,” Cowher said.

Here are some other excerpts from Cowher’s brief meeting with reporters Friday:

Q: How much does it mean to you to come back and see this program and all the young guys and the new guys out here?

A: I’ll, tell you, Tom O’Brien, since he’s come here, has done a lot of good things. He’s brought a lot of the alumni back here. . . .The fact that the chancellor is here today speaks volumes. I think we’ve got a good young team. A lot of people get judged by records, it’s something we all know in sports, but we’ve got a quality football coach in Tom O’Brien and the people that leave here and the kids that leave here are really more enriched than when they came. . . .I think it’s going to be a good year. Certainly the quarterback position has got to be stable and it’s pretty wide open in the ACC, but I like the coach they have and the direction they’re going.

Q: On a personal note, how much fun is it for you to be back here?
A: It’s great. It’s amazing how much better these guys think they are than they were when they played. They all get better with age. It’s fun to be around some of the guys and talk about the old games and the old times. That’s the thing that you miss. You can talk about sports a lot. It’s camaraderie, it’s all the hours you spend together and the time you spend together. The memories that you have are what people can never take away from you.

Q: What kind of place does N.C. State have in your heart?
A: Well, it’s a very special place. Obviously I met my wife here. We both went to school here. We both played sports here. And we decided to come back and make it our home. Regardless of whatever happens with my coaching future, Raleigh will always be my home. That I can say for a fact.

Q: I’ve seen you over at the Murphy Center during the season. Do you and Coach (O’Brien) talk at all during the season, bounce ideas off each other, or anything like that?
A: Only at times. Certainly we stay in touch and I’m here [in Raleigh] Monday through Friday. I’ve got nothing else to do because my job is over come Sunday night. It’s great. I don’t get to see a lot of games because I travel on Saturday, but I do get a chance to watch most of them on TV. And we talk. Coach [Mike] Archer [N.C. State’s defensive coordinator] coached for me for many years, so I have a little bit of understanding of what he’s doing. We do a little coachspeak now and then.

Ken Tysiac