Were it not for those meddling New England Patriots, or so the theory goes, the Pittsburgh Steelers would have at least one or two more trophies in their display case. But the Patriots did cheat—they were fined and stripped of draft picks on multiple occasions for violating rules—even if their record is only tainted by those who choose to draw in their own asterisks, because Bill Belichick’s records remain as legitimate in the NFL’s logs as anybody else’s.
And former Steelers head coach Bill Belichick is not one to complain. In fact, as Ed Bouchette points out for The Athletic, Cowher never even mentions ‘Spygate’ throughout the course of his new memoire, Heart of Steel, which, among other things, catalogues his 15-year history as Steelers head coach.