Where Bill Cowher got it right (and wrong) with his top 5 Steelers defensive players
While he was a part of CBS’ NFL coverage Sunday, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher was asked to give his top 5 Steelers defensive players of all time.
This was Cowher’s list, and his explanations for his rankings:
5. Troy Polamalu: “Defensive player of the year (2010). This guy created havoc. I never saw a guy who made more plays and did more things that could disrupt an offense.”
4. T.J. Watt: “This guy is at an all-time pace to be the all-time sack leader. He’s been the sack leader three times (over) the last four years.”
3. Mel Blount: “Four-time Super Bowl winner. Changed the game as a cornerback.”
2. Rod Woodson: “The best defensive player I ever coached was Rod Woodson. We had him on offense and could return punts. He did it all, and made plays.”
1. Joe Greene: “Two-time Defensive Player of the Year. This guy means everything to Pittsburgh. He exemplifies what a Steeler is.”
If ANYONE has the ability to craft a @steelers Top 5 defenders list, it's @CowherCBS. pic.twitter.com/xWDb4E7Aeh
— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) September 22, 2024
As Cowher implied, you can’t really go wrong with any of those choices. At least you can make a case for all five. However, I don’t think you can make a top 5 list and leave Jack Ham and Jack Lambert off of it. One might have to get squeezed out, but not both.
This would be my list.
5. Jack Ham: This was a coin flip between Ham and Lambert. As a kid growing up, I certainly remember more about Lambert. He was one of my favorites, and he played a few years deeper into the 80s than Ham did, so I have a clearer recollection of him as a Steeler. His personality is as intimately woven into the legacy of the franchise as anyone who put on the Black and Gold.
But I defer to some of my football elders who insist that no one played the outside linebacker position in a 4-3 like Ham did. Four Super Bowl rings. Eight Pro Bowls. Four All-Pro teams. In 1972, as a linebacker, Ham had seven interceptions and four fumble recoveries. He was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.
Ham’s 32 interceptions are equal to what Polamalu had in his career.
4. Troy Polamalu: If you told me I had to leave Polamalu out for both Ham and Lambert, I’d understand.
But eight Pro Bowls, a Defensive Player of the Year Award, and five All-Pros go a long way. That’s to say nothing of making one of the most iconic plays in franchise history.
No. 4️⃣3️⃣ sends the @steelers to @SuperBowl 4️⃣3️⃣. (2008 AFC Championship)@tpolamalu | #HereWeGo | #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Vg80D8Repl
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) January 16, 2020
3. Rod Woodson: If he had won a Super Bowl or two with the Steelers, I might elevate Woodson over the Blount. But, he didn’t. So, I can’t.
Also, this is about how these guys played as Steelers. If I could consider what Woodson did as a 49er, Raven and Raider, this might be different.
2. Mel Blount: “Don’t yinz know they change the rules of the game cuz of him, n’at? I’ll hang up and listen.”
1. Joe Greene: Yeah. What Cowher said. He did it first, and he did it better than anyone else when it came to forging the history of the Steel Curtain. He was as important off the field as he was on it.
Lambert leads the list of the next five, then Watt. I don’t want to employ the “Yeah, but how many Super Bowl wins did he have,” argument to a linebacker. It’s not like he’s a quarterback.
But when you compare Watt to linebackers such as Lambert and Ham who have as many Super Bowl rings as those guys do, it’s more than just a tiebreaker — especially since Watt hasn’t even been part of a single playoff game-winner yet.
Ernie Stautner falls under that same umbrella, but he’s probably in this group too. Then we can split hairs between the likes of Donnie Shell, James Harrison, Joey Porter, Jack Butler, L.C. Greenwood, Andy Russell, Cam Heyward and Greg Lloyd for spots nine and 10.
I was a huge Kevin Greene fan, so I’d like to include him for at least the top 10 debate as well. The only issue with his candidacy was the fact that he only played here three years.
So Cowher isn’t that far off. I’d just make a few tweaks to his list. That said, it’s nice to know there are so many great names to debate.
And there are plenty more we didn’t even mention.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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