Since exiting the ranks of coaching, no two individuals have been more consistently scrutinized as to whether or not they would ever return to the sidelines than Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden. Gruden, of course, eventually caved in when offered the chance to return to the Oakland Raiders—and $100 million over 10 years—but Cowher always retained his resolve that he would not come back to the game.
Originally hired in 1992 to succeed the legendary Chuck Noll, he helped his credibility by taking his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons, at that time just the second to ever do that.