Oct 3, 2002 By Jim Wexell For The 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The team MVP and Pro Bowl quarterback of last year’s magical 13-3 season has been benched in favor of a player who hasn’t started an NFL game in 10 years. And the man who benched Kordell Stewart in favor of Tommy Maddox had the ironic line of the day. “I’m not looking to make this a circus,” said Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

While the many Stewart supporters probably rolled their eyes, the majority of fans who show up at Heinz Field are certainly delirious about the decision to play Maddox, who engineered a come-from-behind win over the Cleveland Browns last week.

After that game, Cowher said he was “leaning to starting the (next) game with Kordell,” but Cowher obviously changed his mind.

“I don’t think you should make a decision within 24 hours of a game,” he said. “There’s too much emotion involved and you want to think about it. You want to sit back and make sure that you contemplate that you’ve made the right decision. I feel very comfortable, having done that, coming to this decision. And like I said, the bottom line and prerequisite for any decision is what’s in the best interest for this team at this time, and I felt this move was the right one with that prerequisite in mind.”

Maddox, Stewart and the rest of the team were informed of the decision Wednesday morning. Maddox broke the news at noon in the locker room.

“Maybe it caught me off guard,” Maddox said of his reaction. “Well, maybe not off guard, but until you hear it come out of his mouth you don’t know what’s going to happen. I wasn’t surprised. I was prepared for it.”

Stewart’s reaction, according to Cowher, was one of a professional. It showed later that day in front of a battery of microphones, cameras and notepads.

“He’s a good guy, man,” Stewart said of Maddox. “He supported me when I was in there, and even through the tough times he was still supportive of me. It’s my opportunity to give back to him what he’s been giving to me because he’s been real genuine about it all.”

Stewart talked about the positives Maddox brings to the team.

“He brings a calmness to the game, relaxed, he’s an accurate thrower and at the same time he’s a pretty intelligent guy, so with all those facets you hope it all works out so we have an opportunity to win,” Stewart said. “I hope we can get a championship out of this. … The mindset is still, ‘We’ve got to win a championship around here’ whether it’s myself or Tommy.”

During Sunday’s rally, Maddox completed 11 of 13 passes for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He threw passes to five different receivers, hitting them in stride nearly every time and certainly making fans of each. Here were their reactions to the move:

“We all call him ‘Tommy Gun,'” said Plaxico Burress. “If you don’t get your head around, he may hit you in the back of the head with the ball. Everybody around here knows that.”

“The year Kordell had, winning MVP, you’d just like to see him out there,” said Hines Ward. “I’ve been here when times were bad with Kordell and when times were good. I would’ve liked it to have been Kordell, but like I said, I’m not the coach. I’m not saying Tommy won’t get the job done. I call him ‘Gunslinger’ because he’s going to sling it. As far as fast break, the way he worked that two minutes, it was like watching (John) Elway on one of those comeback days. It was fun being a part of that. Tommy did a tremendous job coming into the game and stepping into that situation. He showed a lot of poise.”

“I talk to Kordell all the time and he’ll be fine. Just fine,” said Terance Mathis. “But of course it hurts. Anytime you get demoted, it hurts. You want to know how bad it hurts? Ask me. I’ve been through it so many times with many quarterbacks. When things happen like this, the guy who gets demoted really bounces back and becomes a very good player.”

Maddox’s last start came in 1992 as a rookie with the Denver Broncos. He bounced between four NFL teams and three leagues before landing with the Steelers prior to the 2001 training camp, so he realizes that there are no guarantees that he’ll keep the job.

“I don’t know if there is ever a commitment,” he said. “At the quarterback position you have to go out there and you have to play well and put your team in a position to win. I’m not really worried about the commitment. I’m just excited about the opportunity to go out there and play.”