NFL pregame shows are mostly boring and useless until somebody on set gets word he is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is what we learned Saturday night.
Bill Cowher, who coached the Steelers from 1992-2006 and delivered Pittsburgh a Super Bowl after the 2005 season, was elected to the Hall of Fame as a member of the Centennial Slate for the Class of 2020. Now an NFL analyst for CBS, Cowher was surprised with this news on live TV roughly 30 minutes before the Ravens and Titans kicked off their divisional playoff game in Baltimore.
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Toward the end of Saturday night's edition of "The NFL Today" on CBS, Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO David Baker came out of nowhere to deliver the news. Cowher knew what was up immediately.
The newest member of the @ProFootballHOF: Bill Cowher.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 12, 2020
Congratulations, @CowherCBS! #PFHOF20 pic.twitter.com/s5f1gXuDfO
Cowher, 62, finished his Steelers coaching career with a 149-90-1 record in regular-season games. Including Pittsburgh's Super Bowl 40 victory over Seattle, Cowher's teams won 12 of 21 playoff games.
Per the Hall of Fame, a panel met in Canton on Wednesday to elect the Centennial Slate, marking the first time members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were elected during a selection meeting at the Hall. The Centennial Slate, unique to the NFL's 100th season, includes 10 seniors (players who last played more than 25 seasons ago), three contributors (an individual other than a player or coach) and two coaches (who last coached more than five seasons ago) and were voted on from a list of 38 finalists.
The remainder of the 15-person Centennial Slate for the Class of 2020, which in total will consist of 20 members, will be revealed Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7 a.m. ET live during "Good Morning Football" on NFL Network.
The class of five modern-era player finalists for 2020 will be announced the day before Super Bowl 54.