RIP Coach

Chuck Noll, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl championships in the 1970s, died last night at his home in Sewickley, Pa. He was 82.

"Chuck Noll is the best thing to happen to the Rooneys since they got on the boat in Ireland," said Art Rooney Jr., oldest son of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been so consistently strong over the past forty years that it's difficult to imagine a time when they weren't. Before Chuck Noll was hired in 1969, they weren't. The first forty years of the franchise was a mess. That all changed when the Rooney family hired Noll. The Steelers won only one game that first season and they had losing records in the next two. But Noll went about finding the players for his system. That started with his first draft pick, North Texas defensive tackle Mean Joe Greene. Nice start. The Steelers drafts from 1969-74 are the blueprint for building a dynasty. Noll helped find them. Then he coached them. For 23 years.

Noll was a teacher first. He shunned attention and passed up lucrative endorsements. He wasn't particularly close with any of his players. He was a football coach and left it at that. He may have learned some of that "sweetheart" side from playing for Cleveland Browns legend Paul Brown in the 1950s. Brown drafted Noll out of the University of Dayton in the 20th-round of the 1953 NFL Draft. He played linebacker and guard in college. Brown played Noll as one of his "messenger" guards. Since there was no in-game communication between the coach and quarterback in those days, Brown sent the plays in with a rotation of guards. Noll was one of those guards. He proved to be a quick study of football and in particular Paul Brown's football. The demanding coach even said that Noll's grasp of the offense was such that he didn't need help from the sideline to get the call right. That's very high praise from Paul Brown. Noll only played seven seasons, retiring in 1959 at 27. He was quickly hired to coach the defensive line of the San Diego Chargers of the new American Football League by another "happy" coach, Sid Gillman. Noll moved up to defensive coordinator after two seasons. He remained in that role in addition to coaching the defensive backs until 1965. Noll moved to the NFL when Baltimore Colts coach Don Shula hired Noll to be his defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in 1966. Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, and Don Shula might not have been the most warm and fuzzy of coaches but it's hard to come up with a better trio of coaching mentors. Noll didn't need those three to teach him how to be a serious man. It takes a serious man and a serious football player to start a personal war with Chuck Bednarik. Noll took teaching and coaching football seriously. When asked by Sports Illustrated in 2007 how he wanted to be remebered, Noll replied: A person who could adapt to a world of constant change. But most of all as a teacher."

It's been a rough month for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On May 6, longtime scout Bill Nunn Jr. passed away. Nunn opened doors into the NFL for black players and personnel. He also gave the Steelers unparalleled access to players at the historically black colleges. It's a bit simplified but Nunn found the players and Noll coached them.

Chuck Noll turned a long-stumbling Pittsburgh Steelers franchise into a powerhouse. He also gave the Rooney family a model for future coaching hires. The Steelers have only hired two head coaches since Noll retired after the 1991 season. Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. The stability that Noll brought to the Steelers in 1969 continues to this day.

RIP Chuck Noll.