GIF: Mike Tomlin's 'blunder' isn't so bad compared to Bill Cowher's punch

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn't the first head coach to set foot on the field during live play and (depending on whom you ask) get in the way of a ball carrier. He isn't even the first Steelers coach to do it. He's the first to do it on prime time television in the Twitter era, though, so it should come as no surprise the incident ignited a firestorm of opinions.

Tomlin was apologetic about what he described as a "blunder" at a press conference Tuesday, but maybe he should have simply said he was following in the footsteps of one of the great coaches in Steelers history. In 1997, Bill Cowher committed an act most would agree is worse than what Tomlin did. 

Late in a game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Steelers attempted a game-winning field goal. The kick was blocked and returned for a touchdown by the Jaguars. During the return, Cowher stepped onto the field and appeared to briefly consider punching the ball carrier in the head.

[Courtesy: ABC]

Cowher apologized after the game and was not punished by the league.

Imagine if Tomlin had cocked his first at Jacoby Jones. Twitter would have melted.