An interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher.

Joe Bendel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review asks the Steelers' coach a couple of interesting questions, but not the big one: Where's our fifth Super Bowl trophy?

Another year, another batch of victories for Bill Cowher.

Cowher is 21-3 in his past 24 regular-season games.

On Monday night, he was the subject of a halftime spoof by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel during the Colts-Patriots game. Kimmel showed various footage of trademark Cowher tirades from the previous Monday night when the Steelers played the Ravens, then superimposed Cowher's angry expression on a class picture.

The skit was humorous, but showed only one side of the 14-year coach.

After his weekly news conference Tuesday, Cowher, 48, revealed some other sides as he sat down with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Joe Bendel at the halfway point of the season.

Cowher's Steelers are 6-2 and play host to Cleveland on Sunday night at Heinz Field.

Tribune-Review: You laugh when you talk about the Kimmel bit, but do you like being portrayed that way?

Bill Cowher: I guess it's all done in jest, but my wife's been on me. That is the competitive side of me. I'm not very good at hiding my emotions, and I need to do a better job of that. Because what people see there, I'm not always like that. Those are instances in a game. I'm also the guy who's talking to these players in the six days leading up to games and asking about their families and telling them when they do it well and congratulating them on that. But a lot of times, the only time they show you is when you're upset about a call or about a certain play, and, sometimes, people can portray you as someone you're not. That's the only thing that kind of bothers me about things like that. I'm a pretty happy-go-lucky guy, I really am. I love to compete, but I'm easygoing, too.

TR: Do you show that easygoing side more often than you used to? Did you compartmentalize it in the past, holding it back while letting everyone know you were the man in charge?

BC: I've never done anything that's been calculated. I've always been myself. I think what happens is the exposure, sometimes, has become greater. Last year, we played (mostly) 1 o'clock games and there weren't any national games. This year, we're playing Monday Night games and it's on national television. I'm no different this year than I was last year. The only difference is there's more exposure because you're on national TV more.

TR: Would you prefer to do this with little fanfare?

BC: If it was up to me, I wouldn't want any games to be on TV. I'd rather be out there competing. That's the part of it that turns me off the most, is the exposure. It's the people coming up to me and my family and saying, "Hey, boy, did you see your dad last night." Those types of things I don't like. That bothers me. I love to compete. I love the game of football. I love working with players. I love working with coaches. I love that part of it. The exposure part of it, the recognition part of it, those are things I don't like about this job, that I'd rather not have. Those perceptions aren't things that are calculated. That's just me being me doing my job, and I think, at times, it gets overexposed because we've had success.

TR: Because of who you are, you could face such exposure even when you're done here. Do you plan to move to the mountains and get away from everything when you retire?

BC: It goes with the territory. I understand that and there's a responsibility that goes with it. Who knows? This is what I'm doing now and I'll take this year to year right now.

TR: Are you calmer today than you were when you were hired here in 1992?

BC: I'd like to think so. But I don't know if calmer is the right word. Probably secure - I'm a little more secure. Still, I'm a very intense individual when it comes to game day. I hold everyone accountable, beginning with myself. I'm my own worst critic. At times, I expect everyone to be the same way.

TR: You said you're more secure. Can you elaborate?

BC: I'm not as sensitive to criticism as I was early in my career. I'm more sensitive to people questioning my integrity than my tactics. I'm not as sensitive to some of the things that people say. You understand it comes with the business. When you're losing, you become accountable. You've got to be stand-up, and I believe in that. I've coached some bad games and I've coached some good games. I've had some bad years and some good years. I continue to try to keep it in perspective and try to grow. I don't profess to know it all, and I keep looking and learning from watching other coaches and other teams. I try to stay grounded and open-minded to be a better football coach and a better person.

TR: You've had some eye-opening success, such as a 21-3 record in your past 24 regular-season games, 11 consecutive road wins and a 95-1-1 record when leading by more than 10 points, among others. Do you feel like some of these things have been taken for granted?

BC: There's a high level of expectation that exists. I don't think there's any question about that. I guess, sometimes, you look at it and I think it's not a bad thing. I think it exists on our football team, it exists within this organization, and I think we set the standards pretty high. I'd rather deal with that than being in a situation where there's low expectations. So, the most important thing is for us to keep it in perspective. I still think certainly that we're looking at a championship as our ultimate goal. But it doesn't mean that you can't achieve things and enjoy things in the process.
TR: Are you enjoying some of this success, or are you pressured by the expectations?

BC: When you're in the middle of doing something, you've got to be careful. You don't become reflective. That's when you can set into complacency.