It's never a good idea to question the wisdom of network television executives. Generally speaking, they are very smart men who have achieved a high level of success in their lives. Like everyone, they make mistakes. But they don't often make important decisions without thorough documentation that the decision is the right one.

Which means the big shots at CBS know something about Bill Cowher that people in Pittsburgh, who have been following him closely for 15 years, do not.

There's no way CBS would have plugged Cowher, who resigned after 15 years as coach of the Steelers Jan. 4, into its Sunday studio show, "The NFL Today," unless it believed he could make a significant contribution.

The show was fine, as those shows go, with headliners Dan Marino, James Brown, Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe, along with former NFL general manager Charley Casserly. It is typical of the fare built around major game-day productions. A lot of laughing and all-around good times coming from likable personalities. They spew a lot of cliches and generate some, but not many, insights. The shows are entertaining to some but not as informative as people might believe.

In a pre-Super Bowl radio spot, for example, Esiason said the important thing for Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman was to "avoid mistakes." Doesn't get much more insightful than that.

Cowher lacks the main quality necessary to be part of a studio show. He's not a likable personality. That's not meant to be mean toward Cowher. It's a fact. He's not warm and fuzzy. He doesn't relate well to people. But ESPN has managed to make Michael Irvin, widely despised outside of Dallas as a player, a reasonably likable person, so perhaps CBS can do the same with Cowher, who doesn't enter with nearly the handicap of Irvin.

Cowher's hiring is neither a triumph of style over substance or substance over style. He has no style -- not in TV terms -- and, being a coach, he will hold his substance close.

The move is peculiar because, if we are to believe Tony Petitti, the executive vice president of CBS sports, "The NFL Today," is coming off its best year. Why then add an unknown quantity and a man who has been known to have trouble with the language?

Petitti said, "To have a coach that's been in the league as recent as Bill has, it gives us that great analysis. We haven't really had a coach in our lineup for some time. That perspective is really important to the fans of the game. We think he'll offer a unique perspective and obviously great familiarity with the players that are still playing in the league.''

It remains to be seen what kind of perspective Cowher offers. We can only assume that after all these years he will be told by CBS that the word "deter" is not pronounced "de-tear" and that "terse" is not pronounced "tearse." Those are the small hurdles. He has much larger ones to surmount to become successful on television.

When asked in a conference call Thursday about how he would deal with the Steelers, Cowher said he certainly knew the personnel and then rambled on like a fan about wanting to see how free agency and the draft played out.

When pressed about his style -- what would he say about Willie Parker if Parker fumbled on the 2? -- Cowher went off on a tangent about what kind of player Parker is. He either didn't understand the question, which was pretty clear, or, even in this setting, didn't want to criticize.

Cowher's national reputation as a tough-guy coach might have helped him land this job. Except he's not a tough-guy coach. Once you get past the spittle, he's a softie. He rarely, if ever, punished players. It is believed he didn't even fine Plaxico Burress for missing minicamp in 2004.

So he's not going to be a tough-guy commentator. Here's betting he won't just pull his punches, he'll rarely throw them. That's because regardless of how long he stays with TV, he's eventually going back to coaching. And there is no way he is going to criticize a player who might some day be on his team.

CBS isn't looking for Cowher to come in and attack people. If you listen closely to these shows, there's very little criticism. Criticism offends somebody and TV hates to offend. That's why everyone is smiling and laughing all the time.

So why did CBS hire Cowher?

Because he'll draw attention to their show.

Every time there's a hint of a coach being fired, Cowher's name will surface. And CBS will have exclusive entree into this particular newsmaker. It should make for a juicy segment, particularly late in the season.

We'll close with these words for Cowher, something he'd never have said to one of his players:

"Break a leg, Bill.''