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Home > Featured Stories > Community of Scholars > December 2008 > The Measure of SuccessThe Measure of Success
Success is about finding that thing you are good at and can be very passionate about. Chase a dream, and enjoy the process along the way.
Bill Cowher
CBS Sports analyst and 1979 NC State graduate Bill Cowher gave the university's commencement address Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the RBC Center.
By Dave Pond, Web Communication
When Bill Cowher (’79) stepped to the stage to deliver NC State commencement address Wednesday morning, memories of his own graduation flooded back as well, giving the Super Bowl-winning coach a personal perspective on the real-world opportunities facing this semester’s graduates.
“This is going to be a great opportunity to talk to a group of exceptional students who are embarking on a little bit of the unknown,” said Cowher, a CBS sports analyst who guided the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl title in 2005, in a telephone interview Dec. 3. “I don’t think there’s any question regarding the challenges these young men and women will face, but while it is challenging, I also think it’s a golden opportunity for them to bring new, refreshing ideas into the field as well.
“It’s certainly going to test both their confidence and perseverance to enter into the world and perceive at it as a conquerable challenge, but my hopes are that NC State students realize that this is a great opportunity for them to make a difference as well.”
A decorated linebacker for the Wolfpack during the late 1970s, NC State has served as the backdrop to a number of additional high points in Cowher’s life. He met his wife, Kaye – a former NC State basketball star and member of the university’s 1978 ACC regular season championship squad – during his undergraduate years on campus, and actually began his heralded coaching career with the ‘Pack, shortly after graduation in 1979.
“My first experience in coaching was as a graduate assistant here at NC State, shortly after I was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles,” said Cowher, who battled back to play five seasons in the NFL before resuming his coaching career. “I came back down and had a chance to experience the coaching element, and thought, ‘You know, I enjoy this.’
“It was then that I knew that [coaching] was something that I would pursue when my playing career ended.”
An education major at NC State, Cowher said the lessons he learned in the classroom quickly strengthened his desire to teach and instruct – although at the time, he had no idea just where and whom he would be teaching.
“I was fortunate enough to play football at the professional level but had I not, I probably would have been a teacher and coach here in North Carolina,” he said. “There’s no question – I’ve always thought that teaching is one of the most underappreciated jobs in the country.
“It’s the opportunity to share with people the knowledge, experience and any degree of wisdom you’ve gathered along the way and be able to give back, and NC State gave me the opportunity to pursue that dream.”
Cowher’s professional coaching career included stints with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs before he was named head coach of the Steelers in 1992, where he remained for 15 seasons. After handing over his resignation – citing a desire to spend more time with Kaye and their three daughters – the Cowhers relocated to Raleigh, where they continue to make their home.
“Obviously, I was blessed to have been able to start coaching at an early age, so I was able to walk away at an early age as well,” Cowher said. “I’ve had a very supportive wife who has allowed me to do the things that I’ve wanted to do, and now we are at a point where we can share a lot of time together.”
“It’s important to have a job you’re passionate about, but when it’s all said and done, it comes back to family,” he said. “We love this state – we love the weather and the people – and certainly, our time at NC State was filled with great memories and we still have some very strong affiliations with the university.”
Cowher is now an analyst for CBS Sports’ The NFL Today studio show, a gig that allows him to retain close ties to the sport he loves while immersing himself in family life in Raleigh. And as it did first as a graduate assistant and then a coach, Cowher’s education degree and the skills he learned at NC State continue to come in handy in the workplace.
“It’s all about being able to share your knowledge and your experiences with people in a teachable fashion,” he said.
So what is the measure of success? That’s what Cowher shared with the class of 2008 – students preparing to step into an uncertain future.
“Success doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not just measured by what you do,” he said. “So many times, it’s not about how many times you fall down, but more about how many times you get back up that is a true measure of who you are.
“Success is about finding that thing you’re good at and can be very passionate about,” he said. “Chase a dream, and enjoy the process along the way.”
