“Ugh, you know, can I coach and still be out here with my boys? I don’t think so. This is what matters to me right now, being a husband and a father.” Ben Roethlisberger put it all together, won’t be returning to the NFL, neither as a coach nor as a player. Big Ben got the Steelers two Super Bowl wins, the second in 2008. After that, Ben played for 13 more seasons with the team, but could not win another championship. Roethlisberger was the team’s last stable quarterback because ever since he left, the Steelers can’t find a QB who can hold the position in the long run.

Bill Cowher, the Steelers HC for 15 years, recently stopped by The Dan Patrick Show. And you can always expect a trip down memory lane whenever former coaches or players drop by for interviews. So, Dan Patrick saw it as the perfect opportunity to hear it from Bill’s mouth if it was true how Ben would sometimes act like he couldn’t hear the coach.

“Yeah, that’s when he got, he got way too comfortable,” said Cowher, laughing. The former HC shared, “He’d be like, ‘I think my headphones are out.’ No, they’re not. I go, ‘Let me see that helmet.’ I said, ‘The helmet’s fine.’ He goes, ‘It just came back on.’ I go, ‘Yeah, it came back on. It’s called selective hearing.“

That’s not all Coach Bill talked about. Cowher also reminisced about the days Ben came into the Steelers and how he decided not to throw him in as a starter in the very first season. “I just didn’t think it was fair to a young quarterback to throw them in there right away. Dan, because the game is faster.” All the teams with young QBs should take notes here. 

When you talk about the Steelers, how can you not throw in the QB questions that have Steelers worried?

Bill Cowher gets real about Pittsburgh’s QB situation

The Steelers still have to find a solution for their biggest problem this offseason: finding the starting QB. Last week, the team turned back to Mason Rudolph, signing him to a two-year deal worth $8 million. But that’s not even half the work done. Mason will most likely serve as the backup QB only. Now, on the veteran side, they’ve got Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson as potential options.

But Mike Tomlin would think twice before bringing Rodgers on board. You know, the former Packers QB has a certain kind of reputation around the league, and it’s not exactly positive.

Bill Cowher thinks the Steelers should give a second shot to Russell Wilson. Russ did not have the kind of season the Steelers hoped for. After a hot start, winning five consecutive games, Wilson’s performance on the field just declined and declined. The QB finished his 2024 season racking up 2,482 yards with only 16 TDs. But still, Cowher thinks Russ could give them a better shot at an SB win than anyone else.

“I think that Russell Wilson is your best choice. It’s gonna be a better offensive line room with [Troy] Fautanu coming back and moving Broderick [Jones] to left tackle. I think you’re looking at the best receiving core you’re gonna have in a long time,” said Cowher.

But had the Steelers wanted to sign Wilson, they would have done it long ago. They wouldn’t have let him walk in free agency. Wilson had meetings with the Giants and the Browns. There is no word on which team he could go with.

And, as for the Steelers, they might pick a QB from the drafts if they skip on Aaron Rodgers. For now, they just seem to be in real trouble with their never-ending QB crisis that started with Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement.