The Pittsburgh Steelers have had incredible stability at head coach over the years.
Since 1969, the Steelers have had just three head coaches: Chuck Noll (1969-1991), Bill Cowher (1992-2006), and Mike Tomlin (2007-present).
Cowher was interviewed by FOX during the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday between the Steelers and Cowboys. Cowher shared the story of the one item he left behind for Tomlin ahead of the coaching change.
Cowher says he tried to pick Noll’s brain, but Noll didn’t give him much. Cowher deduced that Noll thought it would be best for Cowher to figure out his own style without influence. So when Cowher passed things along to Tomlin, he figured it would be best to do the same.
However, Cowher left one thing behind for Tomlin: an Iron City Beer.
“So as I sat there and Mike came in, I said, ‘I’m not really going to tell anything to him.’ But I am going to leave him one thought: an Iron City Beer. I’m going to leave in the refrigerator — I left that Iron City Beer. He said it’s still there today.
“It’s a Pittsburgh-brewed beer. And beer is kind of a staple of Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh,” Tomlin told FOX’s Tom Rinaldi.
That’s a cool gift. The Iron City Brewing Company opened in Pittsburgh in 1861. The company produces 1.2 million barrels of beer per year and is so critical to the city that the factory has received a historical and local landmark designation. And the company certainly has validation from Cowher.
Tomlin apparently still has that beer left there. He probably isn’t about to share it with one Steelers legend.
