It's coming up on six full NFL seasons since Bill Cowher ended his long run as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Appearing Tuesday at an event to promote CBS' coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, Cowher acknowledged he plans to eventually return to the sideline.
"It would be a challenge," Cowher told Neil Best of Newsday. "But I think that's probably why I would get back into it, because of the challenge."
Cowher, 55, dismissed the idea the game has changed too much for him to still succeed.
"I did it for 27 years," he said. "You don't just forget things overnight. One thing about this job is it's been really good because it allows me to study the game and do features on the game. ... It's not like I'm out of it. I know how the game is changing."
We believe him on that. Cowher hasn't been growing an impressive beard in some remote jungle since the mid-aughts. He's been sitting in a studio, talking about the NFL, pretending to laugh at Shannon Sharpe jokes.
That said, each year away from the game pulls Cowher further off the NFL radar. Five years ago, Cowher was the dream target for any NFL franchise looking for a reboot. Now? Not so much.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.