Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher believes the National Football League should start playing in a bubble now. Given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, with the nation seeing a darker and deadlier second wave of coronavirus, the NFL needs to be proactive now.
Some have argued that the NFL should wait until playoff time, but Cowher thinks they should make the adjustment now. Today saw the Dnever Broncos have none of their four QBs available due to COVID-19, and instead they had to turn to practice squad WR Kendall Hinton taking the snaps.
With rising COVID-19 cases, @CowherCBS discusses what he believes is the best move for the NFL to finish the season strong. pic.twitter.com/doBCIlvYUa
— NFL on CBS ? (@NFLonCBS) November 29, 2020
He predictably finished 1 of 9 passing for 13 yards with 2 INTs. Really, who, anywhere, on any level, is winning when something like that qualifies as football?
As for the team synonymous with Bill Cowher, the Steelers, they are hopeful of playing on Tuesday night, but we’ll see. Their game against the division rival Ravens had to be rescheduled due to the COVID outbreak on the Baltimore football club.
“I think we have to really consider a bubble,” said Cowher this morning on the CBS morning pregame show.
“When you think about the country right now, we’re going through a second wave. You have to be flexible in your thinking. We’re talking about shutting down facilities.”
“We’re talking about teams that may not be able to practice all week.”
“I start to think about teams later on as we go through this, that they get out of the playoffs. They become more reckless and careless with their actions off the field. I think right now from a competitive and balance standpoint that’s out there, and from a safety standpoint that’s out there, go to a bubble.”
“Go to a city right now, identify a hotel, take all the staff members, put them in there, and make sure from that point they bus to and from practice. They fly to and from games.”
It’s only going to get worse now, as people traveled from all over to get together for Thanksgiving and the holiday was a superspreader event to say the least.
Cowher also pointed out how the NBA and NHL had bubbles, and they did it right. So the blueprint is already there for the NFL to follow.
“It worked in hockey,” he continued.
“It worked in basketball. I think the time is now. Protect the integrity of the game. It’s the fairest thing to do. And it’s the safest thing to do.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
