Loose Slag from The Still Mill

• Playing the Chefs was the icing of irony on this fetid cake this season. The Chefs were, just like the Stillers, a putrid team last year, and they did very little in the off-season. Their biggest move was when Marty Sr. stepped down and was replaced by Gunther Cunningham. This didn't seem like much, but consider:

Ed Bouchette, either intentionally or unintentionally, wrote about Marty Sr. and the Chefs in Sat's paper:

"And so, Cunningham took over and changed the way the Chiefs do things. He clamped down on the little things, stuff that did not seem important. He fined players for being the slightest bit late or overweight. He benched Bam Morris two games for missing his weight. He changed practice, made it more up-tempo.

Cunningham talked openly about the difference between him and Schottenheimer, who played in the NFL and looked at it from an ex-player's perspective. "We had a lack of discipline, of focus, whatever you want to call it," KC GM Peterson said.

BINGO. Does this describe the current-day Stillers or not ? Bettis, easily 15 pounds over his optimal playing weight. Kirkland -- 20 pounds over -- and he LAUGHS to reporters about it. JaLame Stephens -- was always 30 pounds overweight.

Lack of focus. A plethora of dumbassed penalties every week. Sloppy practice habits. Wasting at least 2 TO's per week due to mass confusion.

While Cowhead let his team crumble around him and let them do what they want, he should of been doing this:

"Coach Gunther Cunningham knew his Chiefs could play better when they were 5-5 four weeks ago. So he threatened struggling starters, demanding they play like they should or he would find somebody who could. Since then, the Chiefs haven't lost and are atop the AFC West. SportsLine senior writer Dennis Dodd says the first-year coach's philosophy isn't particularly popular, but nobody is arguing with the results.

When you have STARTING linebackers consistently recording ONE solo tackle in a game, you know it's a clear indication that they are NOT being pushed.

• Yunz have probably seen Cowhead's massive denial of any plans to go to NC State or any other ventures. Here's a small recap if you missed it:

 PITTSBURGH (AP) - Bill Cowher, weary of a six-game losing streak and of being asked almost daily about his future, plans to coach only one team next year.

Cowher held two press conferences about 15 minutes apart Monday, the second to clear up speculation that surfaced during the first session that he might leave the Steelers for his alma mater, North Carolina State.

He also said he would not try to get out of the remaining three years of his $6 million contract with the Steelers to coach Houston's expansion NFL team or move into the Monday Night Football booth.

``I'm having a hard time with all the things said over the last five weeks about me and all the things associated with me,'' he said. ``It gets old. I'm tired of it and I don't want to talk about it anymore. And I'm not going to talk about it anymore.''

According to Cowher, NC State athletic director Les Robinson asked him weeks ago if he had any interest in the Wolfpack job. Told no, Robinson called again a few days later, but only to ask Cowher to identify other possible candidates.

Cowher said he did not initially dispel the North Carolina State rumor during his televised news conference Monday because it had so little validity, he didn't consider it necessary.

Cowher decided to meet with reporters for a second time after talking to his wife, Kaye. She said he might have left the impression during his first news conference that he might want to leave for Raleigh.

``My intention is to stay right here and get this turned around,'' he said. ``It really is. I plan on being here. The players read in the papers about me possibly leaving, now they can read in the papers about me staying.''

-- I don't buy it. It's NOT a matter of what Cowhead "intends" to do. It's up to Rooney. If Rooney is as displeased as I think he is, he will bring Cowher in and threaten to fire him. Cowher, whose ego is the size of the Pitt Catherdral of Learning, will never submit to a firing, so the two will work out a "resignation" in which Cowher will receive an undisclosed sum of money. This is a "win-win" for both parties; Rooney gets a new coach without having to eat the remaining 3 years of Bill's contract, and Cowhead gets maybe $500K and written assurances that nothing will ever be released by the team about any non-football related matters.

• How bizarre, asinine, and absurd is it that Cowhead STAUNCHLY REFUSES to give Pete Gonzo ANY playing time?? I'm trying to think of a more asinine coaching move. Kevin Conn refusing to allow Darius Kaspo the freedom to launch his patented hip checks come to mind, but that is far more reasonable and sensible than Cowhead's asininity.

I personally am not terribly "high on" Pete Gonzo. His arm is not very strong and he's not overly gifted.

That said, it makes NO SENSE whatsoever to not get this guy some snaps. We were getting squashed by the Chefs, yet Cowhead refused to insert Gonzo. WHY not get the man some PT and experience?? If nothing else, maybe he could toss a TD pass or 2, turn some heads, and allow us to use him in a trade?? Hey, Scot Mitchell fooled the Lions so badly a few years back, that the Lions rewarded him with a fatty multi-year deal. While there's not enough time for Gonzo to duplicate this, if he were to fire some TDs and look solid in the process, maybe --- if the team has no future plans for him --- he could be thrown into a multi-player deal or a draft-position swap, etc. But to just rot the man on the bench in favor of Mike Prozac is utterly asinine and inexcusable.