Steel Sensations…A look back at Chuck Noll

Courier Newsroom

11 years ago

At 44, Chuck Noll had joined an elite level of NFL coaches with Vince Lombardi and Don Shula after the win in Super Bowl X. Noll, hired at 37, endured a 12-30 record in his first three seasons in Pittsburgh before the success came. (Phil Sandlin, AP)

nollepg-2vertical — At 44, Chuck Noll had joined an elite level of NFL coaches with Vince Lombardi and Don Shula after the win in Super Bowl X. Noll, hired at 37, endured a 12-30 record in his first three seasons in Pittsburgh before the success came. (Phil Sandlin, AP)

Chuck Noll.
You see the name and you immediately think four time Super Bowl winning coach. Noll was one of the best to ever coach the game and fortunately for the Steelers, he spent his entire 22 year head coaching career with the black and gold.
After being a defensive assistant with the Chargers for six seasons and then three more years under Don Shula in Baltimore, Noll was hired as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 at the age of 37.
Noll struggled out of the gates only winning 12 games in his first 42 tries and not making the playoffs until his fourth year with the Steelers. By year six, the team that would form the eventual dynasty of the 70’s was born and Noll led his Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in a span of six seasons.
In 22 seasons, Noll compiled a record of 209-156-1, won nine division championships, four conference titles and four super bowl championships as well. Two years after his retirement, Noll was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Noll was the father of the Steelers as we know them. Without him, the expectation to win a championship each year would not exist, the team would not have the most Super Bowl rings in league history and the rabid fan base may not even exist as it does today. Noll was a winner through and through and a true representation of the Pittsburgh culture.

The Steelers were unsuccessful through their first four decades, when they appeared in just one postseason game. Then in 1969, the Steelers hired Chuck Noll, left, as head coach and he, with a core of players including QB Terry Bradshaw, changed the fortunes of the franchise. (AP Photo/File)

Mike Pelaia hosts the website Steel Nation Association www.steelnationassociation.com- Covering the Steelers and helping Children’s Hospital All Day Everyday. You can e-mail him at mike@steelnationassociation.com.