Steelers coach Bill Cowher said yesterday that buying a house in North Carolina has no correlation with plans for his job in Pittsburgh.

Cowher confirmed that he and his wife, Kaye, bought a house in Raleigh, N.C., but that they completed the deal five months ago, when the Steelers had their off weekend after the third game of the season. He said they had wanted to buy a house in Raleigh for the past couple of years.

Cowher declined to speak directly to the Post-Gazette on the matter, but agreed to relay the information through Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett.

The News & Observer in Raleigh reported this week that the Cowhers had purchased a $2.5 million, newly-built home in an upscale neighborhood in North Raleigh. The house is 7,400 square feet and includes 1.55 acres, a swimming pool and a four-car garage.

The Cowhers met while attending North Carolina State, and Kaye is North Carolina native. They have family and many friends in the area, spend much of their time there in the summer and visit when they can throughout the year. They also have a summer home on Bald Head Island, N.C.

The purchase of the house in Raleigh seemed to underscore rumors spread in the local media after the Super Bowl victory that Cowher might soon retire. The coach told Lockett that is not in his immediate plans.

"Having the [new] house doesn't mean he's leaving here or changing his focus on the team," Lockett related. "He has not given any indication to the club about that. [Buying the house] was something they wanted to do, and they did it and it happened to be the same year we won the Super Bowl."

Left unsaid is who will live in the house and how soon. Lockett said Cowher would not address that. Lindsay, the Cowher's youngest daughter who is a freshman at Fox Chapel High School, has told schoolmates that she will be moving soon to North Carolina.

The Cowhers have three daughters who all play basketball. Meagan is a sophomore at Princeton, and Lauren a senior at Fox Chapel.