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CHUCK NOLL
STEELERS COACHING LEGEND
The second-winningest active coach and fifth-winningest in the history of the NFL, 59-year old Chuck Noll begins his 23rd season as the Steelers’ head coach in 1991. His overall career record of 202-147-1 (0.579) makes him one of only five coaches in NFL history to win 200 games.
Noll’s 202 wins are topped by only George Halas (325), Don Shula (297), Tom Landry (270), and Curly Lambeau (234). Shula, Noll’s former boss with the Baltimore Colts, is the only current coach with more wins and the only active NFL coach who has been a head coach longer than Noll’s 23 years, But Noll has been in charge of the same team longer than any of the NFL’s current coaches and is one of just four men – Lambeau (29), Landry (29), and Steve Owen (23) – to lead the same team for 23 consecutive seasons.
Noll’s overall record includes a 186-139-1 (0.572) regular season mark and 16-8 in postseason. His postseason winning percentage of 0.667 ranks sixth in NFL history and is second among thesix coaches who have been in 15 or more postseason contests. It also includes four Super Bowl wins, which distinguish Noll as the only coach in league history to claim four Super Bowl titles.
Noll was named the 14th head coach in Steelers history on Jan. 27, 1969 He brought with him a solid belief in building through the draft. His first draft class included such future stars as Hall of
Famer Joe Greene, Jon Kolb, and L.C. Greenwood. A 1-13 inaugural season gave Noll the first overall pick of the 1970 draft, which he used to select Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw on the first round and Mel Blount on the third. In fact, Noll selected five players in his first four draft classes who are now members of the Hall of Fame, including three of his first 20 and four of his first 38 draft picks. Records of 5-9 and 6-8 in Noll’s second and third seasons reflected the progress his young team was making.
In 1972 the Steelers turned the corner with an 11-3 campaign for their first division title in the club’s 40-year history. They won a thrilling 13-7 playoff game over Oakland before losing to Miami 21-17 in the AFC Championship, but this began a streak of eight years of postseason play.
In 1973 the Steelers claimed a wild card playoff berth but lost to Oakland 33-14 in the wild card game. The following year Noll got his second division title and the first of six consecutive as he led the Steelers to a 10-3-1 finish. But the Steelers were not finished yet as they defeated Buffalo (32-14) and Oakland (24-13) en route to Super Bowl IX. A 16-6 domination of Minnesota handed Noll and the Steelers their first Super Bowl trophy.
In 1975 the Steelers became the third team, joining Green Bay (Super Bowls I and II) and Miami (VII and VIII) to repeat as Super Bowl champion. They plowed through the regular season with a 12-2 record before dispatching Baltimore (28-10) and Oakland (16-10) in the playoffs and Dallas (21-17) in Super Bowl X. Noll joined Vince Lombardi and Shula as the only coaches to win two Super Bowls. The Steelers struggled in 1976, starting 1-4 before nine straight wins left them at 10-4 to win the AFC Central division. They downed Baltimore 40-14 in the playoffs but could not beat Oakland, losing 24-7. A 9-5 finish in 1977 preceded the Steelers’ 34-21 playoff loss to Denver.
In 1978 Noll got his team back on track as they posted a league-best 14-2 record. They dominated Denver (33-10) and Houston (34-5) in the playoffs to set up a Super Bowl rematch vs. Dallas in Super Bowl XIII. The Steelers’ 35-31 win made them the first team to win three Super Bowls.
The Steelers made history one more time after a 12-4 campaign in 1979 and postseason wins over Miami (34-14) and Houston (27-13). Their 31-19 Super Bowl XIV win over the Los Angeles Rams gave the Steelers an unprecedented fourth Super Bowl championship and the title, “Team of the Decade.”
Noll’s 1980 and 1981 teams fell short with 9-7 and 8-8 records, but in 1982, the Steelers’ 50th season, the team rebounded to a 6-3 finish in a strike-interrupted season. They lost their playoff game, however, 31-28 to San Diego.
In 1983 and 1984 Noll claimed his eighth and ninth division titles, The 1983 team went 10-6 before losing to the Los Angeles Raiders in the playoffs, 38-10. In 1984 the team advanced as far as the AFC Championship game with a 9-7 regular season mark and a 24-17 playoff win in Denver. The hope for a fifth Super Bowl appearance vanished in the Steelers’ 45-28 AFC Championship loss to Miami.
Noll’s longest playoff drought lasted from 1985-88, but he ended that in 1989 with a 9-7 team that claimed an AFC wild card berth as it won five of its final six games. The team showed its character by bouncing back from an 0-2 start in which the Steelers were outscored 92-10. They proved their character again in a 26-23 overtime playoff win in Houston, and the following week dominated Denver before losing 24-23 in the final minutes. Noll was rewarded by being named AFC Coach of the Year for the first time by the Professional Football Writers of America. It was an honor long overdue for a man whose professional football career spans five decades.
In 1990 Noll’s young team struggled through a 1-3 start before finishing the season at 9-7 and in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC Central. They were eliminated from the playoffs in tie-breaker procedures.
Noll’s 39-year pro football career includes seven seasons as a player, nine as an assistant coach, and 23 as a head coach. He began as a 21st-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in 1953, where he played guard and linebacker through 1959. He retired at the age of 27 and began his coaching career in 1960 as an assistant to Sid Gillman with the Los Angeles Chargers.
In 1966 Noll joined Shula’s Baltimore Colts staff for a three-year stint that included a total of seven losses and a Super Bowl III loss to the New York Jets. Following Super Bowl 111, Noll was named head coach of the Steelers.
Charles Henry Noll was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 5, 1932. He attended Holy Trinity School and Benedictine High prior to enrolling at Dayton, where he studied education and was captain of the football team and is a charter member of the school’s athletic hall of fame. Noll was graduated from Dayton in 1953 with a bachelor of science degree in education, and in 1980 he was presented a Distinguished Alumni Award. He also has two honorary degrees, receiving a Ph.D. in humanitarian service from Duquesne in 1980 and a Ph.D. in commercial science from Robert Morris College in 1990. Noll and his wife Marianne have one son, Chris. The Nolls live in Upper St. Clair.
