PITTSBURGH, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Bill Cowher is set to resign as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday.
Cowher, the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, guided the Steelers to the Super Bowl last season but his team went 8-8 in 2006 after a 2-6 start and missed the playoffs. He has a 149-90-1 career record in 15 years with the Steelers.
The Steelers called a news conference for Friday at 1 p.m. EST, during which Cowher was expected to announce he was stepping down.
There had been speculation throughout the season that Cowher was contemplating at least a one-year absence from coaching. He said prior to the start of the 2006 campaign that he would not think about negotiating a new contract until after the season.
Ken Whisenhunt -- the Steelers offensive coordinator and one of the leading candidates to replace Cowher -- interviewed Thursday with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank as a possible successor to Jim Mora, who was fired as Atlanta head coach earlier in the week.
