Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll died on Friday night at his home in Sewickley, Pa., of Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 82. The four-time Super Bowl champion head coach had also suffered from a heart condition and back issues.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 5, 1932, Noll attended Benedictine High School where he was an All-State running back and tackle. He won a football scholarship to the University of Dayton where he started and was co-captain on their only team to play in the Division I post-season.
After graduating from the University of Dayton, Noll was selected in the 20th round (239th overall) of the 1953 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. Noll played right guard and linebacker for the Browns from 1953-1959. During Noll’s playing career he had eight career interceptions for 92 yards and one touchdown. His longest interception return came in 1955 when he ran one back for 24 yards. In a game during the 1956 season he recovered a fumble 39 yards for a touchdown.
Following his retirement at the age of 27 in 1959, Noll turned to coaching, In 1960 he was hired by legendary head coach Sid Gillman who coached the Los Angeles Chargers of the upstart American Football League. Noll served as a defensive coach with the Chargers from 1960-1965.
Don Shula, head coach of the Baltimore Colts, hired Noll to be his defensive coordinator in 1966. During Noll’s time with the Colts he turned the defense into one of the top units in the NFL. The 1968 Colts defense set the record for fewest points allowed in a 14-game season (144), a record that stood until the 1977 Atlanta Falcons (129). It was the 1968 Colts team that suffered one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history when they were defeated by the underdog New York Jets and Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath who made the famous victory guarantee in Super Bowl III.
Following Noll's loss in the Super Bowl with the Colts, the Steelers made him their 14th head coach in franchise history and the youngest NFL head coach at the age of 37. Noll wasn't the Steelers first choice as they originally made a five year, $350,000 contract offer to Penn State head coach Joe Paterno. Paterno turned the job down and the Steelers called on Noll whom Shula personally recommended to Steelers owner Art Rooney.
Noll inherited a Steelers team that had never been to a championship game and was coming off a 2-11-1 season. Noll won his first game 16-13 against the Detroit Lions. The Steelers then proceeded to lose their next 13 games to finish the 1969 season 1-13.
Noll improved the Steelers each year with the emphasis on building through the draft. Noll’s first draft pick in the 1969 draft was legendary Hall of Fame defensive tackle Charles “Mean Joe” Greene. Other future hall of famers drafted by Noll were quarterback Terry Bradshaw and defensive back Mel Blount in 1970, linebacker Jack Hamm in 1971, and running back Franco Harris in 1972.
In 1974 Noll drafted what came to be considered by many the greatest draft class in NFL history with wide receivers Lynn Swann (RD 1) and John Stallworth (RD 4), middle linebacker Jack Lambert (RD 2) and center Mike Webster (RD 5). The Steelers are the only team in NFL history to select four future Hall of Famers in a single draft.
As Noll’s draft strategy progressed, the legendary “Steel Curtain” defense began to emerge. Greene and Ernie Homes, defensive ends L. C. Greenwood and Dwight White , linebackers Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Andy Russell, and defensive backs Mel Blount, J. T. Thomas , Glen Edwards, Donnie Shell and Mike Wagner. Everyone except for Donnie Shell (undrafted costless agent) and Andy Russell (drafted by Steelers in 1963) came through one of Noll’s drafts.
Along with defensive coordinator Bud Carson, Noll fashioned the NFL’s premier defense of the 1970’s. The Steel Curtain dominated the 70’s, especially the defense of 1976, which allowed just 28 points the final nine games of the season. Eight of the 12 members of the Steel Curtain made the AFC Pro Bowl squad that year: Blount, Edwards, Greene, Greenwood, Ham, Lambert, Thomas and Wagner.
The Steel Curtain defense combined with a offense that consisted of future Hall of Famers such as Bradshaw at quarterback, Harris at running back, and Swann at wide receiver, became the team of the Seventies. During the decade they amassed a 99-44-1 (.688) record. The players responded to Noll’s coaching techniques and their play improved dramatically as the years passed.
Noll was not a strict disciplinarian like Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers and Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys, but he demanded attention to detail and would drill players over and over again until they got it right.
"He was one of the great coaches of the game," Steelers owner Dan Rooney once said. "He ranks up there with (George) Halas, (Tom) Landry and (Curly) Lambeau."
Noll believed that for players to truly succeed in the NFL they had to perform the fundamentals well. Noll would spend time after practice with players going over basic NFL techniques to make sure mistakes wouldn’t be made performing standard football moves.
To this day Russell praises Noll's ability to teach players.
“He would teach new draft choices who were All-American guards how to get in a stance,” Russell said. “In his first year, we won our first game and lost 13 in a row. He said: ‘We will get worse before we get better because I’m going to force you to play the right way.’ ”
The Steelers first winning season under Noll came in 1972 when they went 11-3 and won the AFC Central division. The Steelers defeated the Oakland Raiders 13-7 in the divisional round of the playoffs and then lost the AFC Championship game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 21-7.
The 1973 Steelers went 10-4, finishing in a tie with the Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the AFC Central but lost the division title due to tiebreakers. The Steelers faced the Raiders once again in the divisional round, this time losing 33-14.
In 1974 the Steelers reached the destination that Noll planned out for them five years earlier. They went 10-3-1 and clinched the AFC Central Division title. The Steelers defeated their old nemesis Oakland 24-13 in the AFC Championship game. They went on to meet the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX and won their first Super Bowl title in franchise history 16-6.
1975 saw the Steelers record their best franchise record to date, going 12-2 and once again clinched a division title. The Steelers faced a rematch with the Raiders in the AFC Championship game and defeated them 16-10. The Steelers defeated the Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X to win back to back titles.
The Steelers returned to the playoffs in 1976 but lost 24-7 to the Raiders in the AFC Championship game. In 1977 the Steelers lost in the divisional round to eventual AFC Champion Denver Broncos 34-21.
Noll would lead the Steelers once again to back to back Super Bowl titles in 1978 and 1979. They defeated the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, 35-31, and the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV, 31-19. Their 14-2 record in 1978 is to this day a franchise record for wins in a season. Noll became the only head coach to win four Super Bowl titles and remains the only one to do so.
Noll’s Steelers would never return to the Super Bowl following the 1979 season. They would return to the playoffs four more times, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1989. They reached the AFC Championship game in 1984 but lost to Dan Marino and the Dolphins, 45-28.
Noll finally received recognition as a head coach in 1989 when he was named NFL Coach of the Year. He would retire following the conclusion of the 1991 season with a record of 209-156-1, the sixth best record of any head coach in NFL history. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Noll had several assistants who went on to become NFL head coaches. Two of the most successful head coaches to have coached under Noll are John Fox (defensive backs coach, 1989-1991) with the Broncos and Tony Dungy (defensive backs coach, 1981-1983, and defensive coordinator, 1984-1988), who coached the Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts.
Asked in 2007 how he wanted to be remembered, Noll replied: “A person who could adapt to a world of constant change. But most of all as a teacher.”
He is survived by his wife, Marianne; a son, Chris; and two grandchildren,