On January 27th, 1969, Art Rooney hired a young head coach named Chuck Noll who was the 13-1 Super Bowl bound Baltimore Colts defensive coordinator in 1968. Rooney didn’t know it at the time, but the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Steelers were about to change dramatically.
35 years of NFL football had led to two playoff appearances and 0 playoff victories. Outside of Pittsburgh, the team was considered a doormat and players across the league were threatened with the idea of being traded to Pittsburgh.
Noll was recommended to Rooney by Don Shula after Joe Paterno turned down the position of head man of the Steelers. Noll’s eye for talent was superior and his schemes put them in the best position to win. He paired with Dick Haley and together they drafted multiple Hall of Fame players during their tenure together, including the best draft in NFL history, the 1974 draft class. Noll and Haley even helped to set up Bill Cowher’s early Super Bowl appearance with one final great draft in 1987. The Steelers draft philosophy that has lasted throughout the Super Bowl era was formed by Noll’s insistence on his first draft choice, Joe Greene.
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 29: (l-r) Terry Bradshaw #12, Mean Joe Greene #75, head coach Chuck Noll and Glen Edwards #27 of the Pittsburgh Steelers watch from the sideline during the 1974 AFC Championship game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on December 29, 1974 in Oakland, California. The Steelers defeated the Raiders 24-13. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)
Noll built the 1970’s Team of the Decade around a suffocating defense and that started with Greene, who was the blueprint for the type of player Noll wanted. It took him a couple of years to build the defense around Greene and the offense around his second first round draft pick, Terry Bradshaw. The Steelers tapped Franco Harris in the 1972 NFL Draft and the formation of the dynasty was coming together. The Steelers made the playoffs in Noll’s fourth season going 11-3 and beat the Oakland Raiders, courtesy of the Immaculate Reception. Two years later, the Steelers were in Super Bowl IX and put on a devastating defensive performance, beating the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in a game that wasn’t that close. The Steelers returned to Super Bowl X and beat the Dallas Cowboys in one of the most exciting Super Bowl’s ever played, 21-17.
In 1976, the Steelers were riding high off of two world championships and leading up to the season were the odds-on favorite to win the AFC Championship again. However, they struggled out of the gate and after dropping to 1-4 and losing Terry Bradshaw against the Cleveland Browns, it seemed the Steelers' Super Bowl aspirations were going up in smoke. Noll had to turn to rookie Mike Kruczek to lead his offense for the next six games. He decided to lean on his defense, Harris and Rocky Bleier. The Steelers would not lose again in 1976 during the regular season. Bleier and Harris rushed for over 1,000 yards each and the defense was sublime. The next five games, the defense gave up three field goals, including three consecutive shutouts.
When the Houston Oilers came to town the week before Thanksgiving, they finally relented and gave up a pair of touchdowns to the Oilers and John Hadl through the air. John Sawyer’s touchdown in the fourth quarter would be the last touchdown the Steelers gave up until the Divisional Round. They closed the season with a pair of shutouts and headed to the playoffs. The Steelers lost Bleier early in the Divisional Round against the Baltimore Colts, and later in the game, they lost Harris. The Steelers dominated the Colts 40-14 and in what seemed like an annual occurrence, would meet the Raiders in the 1976 AFC Championship game. Harris and Bleier would not play a down against the Raiders and the defense finally relented. However, looking back, it was one of Noll’s finest coaching jobs in his career to turn a 1-4 team that lost multiple offensive starters into an appearance in the AFC Championship game. The 9.9 points per game average the 1976 Steelers allowed was the last AFC team to allow less than 10 points per game.
Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Noll would go on to win two more back-to-back Super Bowls in Super Bowl XIII and XIV including for my money the best Super Bowl ever played, the rematch against the Cowboys that the Steelers won, 35-31. If you are a younger fan who has never watched the game, you can catch it on YouTube here.
The interesting thing about Noll’s second pair of Super Bowls was that while the defense was important, Bradshaw, and the passing game were the keys to the victories. Noll had evolved offensively and put more faith in Bradshaw to lead the team which resulted in back-to-back Super Bowl MVP's for the quarterback.
Compared to the 1970’s, the Steelers of the 1980’s were a disappointment. Noll did manage to make the playoffs four times during the decade and even got the 1984 Steelers all the way to the AFC Championship game with Mark Malone playing quarterback for the 9-7 Steelers. Noll missed the playoffs for the next four seasons, but in 1989 with some of the fandom calling for his head, he put together one last miracle after starting the season 0-2 and being outscored 92-10 by the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers went 9-5 down the stretch. Bubby Brister and a career defining performance by Merrill Hoge against Houston in the Wild Card Round gave Noll his final playoff win.
Noll retired from coaching two years later after the 1991 season and gave way to Cowher. He had a career record of 209-156-1 if you include postseason and regular season games. He was 16-8 in the playoffs and 4-0 in Super Bowls beating his competition for Team of the Decade in the 1970’s, the Cowboys twice in the big game. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993, he split his time between Pittsburgh, and he was named Administration Adviser to the Steelers after his retirement. He did not however, hold a role in the front office.
Noll died of natural causes on June 13, 2014, 8 years ago today.
Noll played an important role in NFL history. He wasn’t just one of the winningest coaches ever, he chose Joe Gilliam to become the NFL’s first African-American starting quarterback in 1974 and 10 years later named the youngest defensive coordinator, another African-American in Tony Dungy as a key member of his staff. Noll’s legacy lives on in Pittsburgh and Dan Rooney said it best after he passed:
"As for the football end of it, I think he ranks with [George] Halas and [Vince] Lombardi. There are many other good coaches over the history of the NFL, but I think Chuck Noll ranks up there with those other two guys right at the top. No other coach won four Super Bowls, and the way he did it was with dignity. His players were always his concern, both in treating them well and giving them what they needed to succeed on the field."
I grew up watching the 1970’s and 80’s Steelers until I joined the Navy in 1986 and saw very few games until I left the service in 1991 just after he coached his final game. I saw most of the Cowher era games and all of the Mike Tomlin era and I like those two coaches. I loved Chuck Noll, and I miss him. Thanks for the memories, Coach.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? What’s your fondest memory of Coach Noll? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
