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Cowher on return to sidelines: 'It has to be the right situation'

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher still gets the coaching bug from time to time.

Cowher, speaking to an audience on Thursday at Penn State-Behrend, in Erie, Pa., expressed no regrets stepping down as the coach of the Steelers following the 2006 season, but hinted that he could be lured back for the right team, according to the *Pittsburgh Tribune-Review*.

"I am not going to go back into coaching, just to go back into coaching," Cowher said. "It has to be the right situation. And I don't know what the right situation consists of."

Cowher amassed a 161-99-1 record in 15 seasons with the Steelers from 1992-2006. He led Pittsburgh to six conference championship games and two Super Bowls, including the team's 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

"With every year, there becomes a little bit more of a void because you do miss it," Cowher said. "But I had a chance these last few years to spend some very special time with the women in my life. For that, I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever for walking away."

Cowher's wife, Kaye, died of skin cancer in July at the age of 54. She died in her native North Carolina, where the family relocated at her urging during her husband's final year as Steelers coach in 2006. 

Cowher -- perhaps due to his proximity -- has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Carolina Panthers coaching job should Panthers coach John Fox depart. Fox is in the final year of his contract with the team.

Multiple other NFL teams in search of a coach -- including the Buffalo  Bills, New York  Jets and Cleveland  Browns -- reportedly have pursued Cowher in the past.

Cowher acknowledged Thursday that he has been approached before. "But I never got too far into it," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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