by Glenn Wooley

Created on: November 24, 2008   Last Updated: February 23, 2010

Chuck Noll stands out as one the great coaches in NFL history. He is also one of the most unique coaches. He took over a franchise that in the 60's that was more famous for football bloopers than winning football. He built that football team ,through the draft into a consistemt winner whose momentum has carried on to the present day Steelers. Chuck Noll was not a cheerleader;he was not a coach who motivated his team by being a rah rah guy;that cheerleading could only take you so far. When you come into the NFL,you should be ready to put that college stuff aside. He motivated his players by teaching them what their roles were going to be on that team. He knew that to be successful every member of that organization had a role to fill.He was sometimes tough on his players,he demanded a lot.

His favorite phrase was"whatever it takes",his players always knew what it would take.His team didn't always win,but they were always prepared. He was also very good at evaluating talent:he was very good at drafting quality players. He built the team from the foundation starting with the line.Some of his best draft choices were unheard players from small colleges. When he selected Joe Greene as his first over all draft,people in Pittsburgh said"Joe who? Chuck Noll did't always go for the big name college stars;he wanted players that fit a certain profile. He had a master plan in place the day he took the job. Chuck Noll's team won four Super Bowls ,and were a constant winner through the 70's and early 80's. Yet he never took any credit for his success.

When accolaydes did come in from the media,he deflected them to his players citing them as the ones who deserved the prase. He could be tough on players on the field,but he never bad mouthed any of them to the media Inthe NFL it was the norm for coaches and players to be vocal and high profile;yet Chuck Noll was a quiet private person who had interests outside of football. He never took credit for victories,but always took the blame for losses.

The late Myron Cope,the long time Steeler announcer o0ften referred to Chukk Noll as the 'Emporer' because of the way he ran the team. Chuck Noll would have a real problem with some of today's players;you see in his era players didn't quit on their teams because they were unhappy with their contract,it simply didn't happen on his team. Chuck Noll won because he knew what he was doing. He won because he was patient with players,he stayed with someone like Terry Bradshaw until he was able to mature.He gave Rocky Bliere an opportunity to recover from his injuries from Vietnam,very few coaches would have done that.The Steelers went from being patsies to being a dynasty and with that brought about the Steeler Nation.

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