Chuck Noll

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Chuck Noll
Date of birth	January 5, 1932 (1932-01-05) (age 76)
Place of birth	Cleveland, Ohio
Position(s)	Head Coach Guard Linebacker
College	Dayton
NFL Draft	1953 / Round 20/ Pick 239
Awards	1972 UPI AFC Coach of the Year 1989 Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of the Year
Honors	NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Career record	209-156-1 (Including Postseason)
Super Bowl       wins	1979 Season, '80 Super Bowl Super Bowl XIV 1978 Season, '79 Super Bowl Super Bowl XIII 1975 Season Super Bowl X 1974 SeasonSuper Bowl IX
Championships       won	1979 AFC Championship 1978 AFC Championship 1975 AFC Championship 1974 AFC Championship
Stats
Playing stats	DatabaseFootball
Coaching stats	Pro Football Reference
Coaching stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1953-1959	Cleveland Browns
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1960-1965 1966-1968 1969-1991	L.A./San Diego Chargers (Defensive Assistant) Baltimore Colts (Defensive Backfield) Pittsburgh Steelers (Head Coach)
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1993

Charles Henry Noll (born January 5, 1932) is a former professional American football player and coach, most notably the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991. Noll has more Super Bowl wins than any other head coach in NFL history, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

[edit] Playing career

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Noll attended Benedictine High School where he played running back and tackle, winning All-State honors. He won a football scholarship to the University of Dayton. Noll was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1953, where he played until his retirement in 1959 at the age of 27.

[edit] Early coaching career

Noll was an assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Colts before becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. He was the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Colts (under head coach Don Shula) during their 13-1 season in 1968, in which the team set an NFL record of fewest points allowed (144). The 1968 Colts won the NFL championship by stomping the Cleveland Browns 34-0 in Cleveland, but the heavily favored Colts were shocked by the upstart AFL champion New York Jets, 16-7, in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

[edit] Pittsburgh Steelers

Noll was named the 14th head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 27, 1969, after Penn State coach Joe Paterno turned down an offer for the position. Noll took the 4-3 defense he ran in Baltimore and implemented a similar defensive system in Pittsburgh, which became the legendary "Steel Curtain" defense. His coaching style earned him the nickname of Emperor Chaz.^[1] Noll is the only head coach to win four Super Bowls, coaching the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl IX (1975), Super Bowl X (1976), Super Bowl XIII (1979), and Super Bowl XIV (1980).

The key to Noll's coaching success during this unprecedented run was the Steelers' skill in selecting outstanding players in the NFL college player draft. Noll's first round one pick was Joe Greene, a defensive tackle from North Texas State, who went on to become a perennial All-Pro and anchor the defensive line. During the next few years, the Steelers drafted quarterback Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) and running back Franco Harris (Penn State) as round one picks. In the 1974 draft, Noll and the Steelers achieved a level of drafting success never seen before or since, when they selected four Hall of Famers with their first five picks: wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, middle linebacker Jack Lambert, and center Mike Webster. To this day, no other draft by any team has included more than two future Hall of Famers.

The hallmark of the team during the 1970s was a stifling defense known as the Steel Curtain, loaded with All-Pros. The starting 11 (linemen L.C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, Ernie Holmes (later Steve Furness), Dwight White, linebackers Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Andy Russell (later Loren Toews), defensive backs Mel Blount, J.T. Thomas, and safeties Glen Edwards (later Donnie Shell) and Mike Wagner had a collective level of talent unseen before in the NFL.

The teams that won Super Bowls IX and X used a run-oriented offense, primarily featuring Franco Harris and blocking back Rocky Bleier. Over the next few years, Terry Bradshaw matured into an outstanding passer, and the teams that won Super Bowls XIII and XIV fully utilized the receiving tandem of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.

Noll was never a coach who sought a lot of media attention, and his 1970s teams were so talented that his contributions as head coach (and architect of the team) often were overlooked.

In 1989, Noll finally achieved some recognition as NFL Coach of the Year, when he guided the Steelers into the second round of the playoffs. The team was not especially talented, and lost its first two regular season games by scores of 51-0 and 41-10. However, Noll did a remarkable job in keeping the team focused and steadily improving its play, as they made the playoffs and played competitively in two playoff games.

[edit] Retirement

Noll retired as Steelers head coach in 1991 with a record of 209-156-1. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Noll still has a residence in suburban Pittsburgh. However, he spends most of his time at his home in Florida. His mobility has been limited by chronic back problems. Noll holds the ceremonial title of Administration Adviser in the Pittsburgh Steelers' front office, but has had no real role in the team's operations since his retirement.

[edit] Legacy

Noll's legacy included providing opportunities for African-Americans. Under Noll, Joe Gilliam became the league's first African American starting quarterback (starting ahead of Terry Bradshaw briefly during the 1974 season). In 1975, Franco Harris became the first African American to win the Super Bowl MVP award. During the 1980s, Tony Dungy (who briefly played under Noll in the late 1970s) got his start as an NFL assistant coach, initially as the Steelers' Defensive Backs Coach and later Defensive Coordinator. Noll strongly promoted Dungy as a well-qualified head coaching candidate, but it did not happen with the Steelers when Noll retired after the 1991 season. However, Dungy did become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl (XLI) with the Indianapolis Colts.

On August 2, 2007, the field at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania was dedicated and renamed Chuck Noll Field in honor of the former coach. For more than 40 years the Steelers have held their summer camp at St. Vincent College, as it was Noll's idea to take the team away from the distractions in the city to prepare for the season each year.

Chuck Noll was honored on October 7, 2007 at Heinz Field during the pre-game ceremonies.

[edit] Career record

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile