"Bill Cowher wasn't happy when he was told that he wouldn't be granted a sit-down with owner Woody Johnson, who is out of the country until Monday," wrote Rich Cimini. "Cowher knew from the outset it was going to be a longshot with the Jets - in his mind, GM Mike Tannenbaum was the issue, not QB Brett Favre - but not being able to hook up with Johnson was the last straw."
A friend of Cowher told JC early last week that Cowher wasn't coaching in 2009 under any circumstances. NFL Network's Adam Schefter had a similar report.
And then Cowher made it official on the CBS' NFL Pregame Show.
So all the criticism of the Jets for botching the pursuit of Cowher is a moot point, unless Cowher was talking out of both sides of his mouth.
If Cowher had decided to sit out 2009, what difference does it make it Woody Johnson was out of the country or not last week?
Cowher told the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns he wasn't coaching this year when they approached him. In those cases, he told the owner's, in the Jets case, he told someone else.
This is a non-story, and it's time for the Jets to stop taking it on the "chin" over this.