Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher had a successful 15-season stint with the NFL franchise.
Videos by FanBuzz
At the helm of the Black and Gold from 1992-2006, Cowher led the Steelers to two Super Bowl victories and eight AFC North Division titles.
It wasn't until after his coaching career that Cowher married his current wife, Veronica, after he tragically lost his first wife, Kaye, to cancer.
Bill Cowher's First Wife
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Bill Cowher was married to a former basketball player Kaye Cowher. The pair tied the knot in 1993 and were together until 2012, when Kaye tragically passed away of skin cancer at the age of 54.
Bill and Kaye initially met at North Carolina State, where Kaye and her twin sister Faye were members of the Wolfpack's basketball team. Bill was a star linebacker for the football team. Kaye and Faye also played in the Women's Professional Basketball League for the New Jersey Gems.
The football coach and Kaye had three daughters together: Meagan, Lauren and Lindsay, all of whom were excellent athletes.
The Cowher clan lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, and his oldest daughter, Meagan, is married to NHL forward Kevin Westgarth, who played for the LA Kings. Lindsay played college basketball at Wofford University. She's married to former Duke and NBA player Ryan Kelly.
Bill Cowher's Wife Veronica Stigeler
RELATED: Who is Mike Tomlin's Wife?
Following the loss of Kaye, Cowher met Veronica Stigeler. Cowher wasn't in a dating mindset, as he was still grieving Kaye's passing, but Veronica was going through a divorce at the time and the two unexpectedly hit it off.
After dating for a while, Cowher and Stigeler got married in 2014.
Veronica is a successful musician who goes by the stage name of Queen V, and is a huge football fan. The pair live together in Manhattan, New York, after Cowher bought an apartment in the city a few years ago.
Photo by Rich Graessle/PPI/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Despite the pain of losing his first wife, Cowher found love again and is happily married to Stigeler.
Cowher and Stigeler experienced a bit of health scare in 2020. According to The Athletic, Veronica and Bill both tested positive for coronavirus antibodies that year — during the height of the pandemic — which indicated the pair likely had COVID-19 at some point.
Fortunately, the former Steelers coach and his wife both recovered.
Bill Cowher's Coaching Career
Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images
Like many NFL coaches, Bill Cowher was a former football player. Cowher played high school football at Carlynton High in Pennsylvania before attending North Carolina State. He then went on to have a brief career in the NFL.
Cowher played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns before joining the Philadelphia Eagles. His last season in the league came in 1984 before he turned his eyes toward coaching.
Prior to his days as a legendary head coach in Pittsburgh, Cowher got his first NFL coaching gig as a defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent three years in that role before being poached by the Steelers in 1992.
With the Steelers, Cowher led the team to the playoffs in 10 seasons. He won two AFC Championship Games and made two Super Bowls, winning one and losing the other.
His first Super Bowl appearance came in Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys, though the Steelers were defeated 27-17. It took 10 years for the team to return to the big game, but they managed to defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, earning Cowher his first and only Lombardi Trophy in 2006.
He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2020 class.
Cowher retired from coaching after the 2006 season and joined CBS Sports as a studio analyst for The NFL Today. Cowher has enjoyed a successful career as a studio analyst for CBS and is one of the most-recognized analysts in the game today.
This article was originally published on February 11, 2022 and has been updated since.
