Chuck Noll

Chuck Noll was the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 23 seasons from 1969 until 1991. The Noll-led Steelers developed from a miserable 1-13 season in Noll's first campaign to the highest level ever attained by an National Football League team to date.

He won four Super Bowl championships in a six-year period starting with a 16-6 win over Minnesota in Super Bowl IX and culminating with a 31-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV. Pittsburgh also defeated Dallas twice in classic struggles, 21-17 in Super Bowl X and 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII. Noll took over a Pittsburgh team that had never won a championship of any kind in almost 40 years of National Football League play.

Through shrewd drafts and strong guidance, Noll helped team owner Art Rooney and the Steelers shed their “lovable losers” image. He quickly established a building program with an emphasis on the annual college draft to realize the ultimate goal of an NFL championship.

The rebuilding program bore fruit much more quickly than could have been expected. His fourth team in 1972 finished with an 11-3-0 record and the AFC Central Division title. The Steelers lost the 1972 AFC championship to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 21-17.

Altogether, Noll's team won nine AFC Central Division championships and they had winning records in 15 of his last 20 seasons with the Steelers. He retired with an impressive 209-156-1 record in all games, including a 16-8-0 post-season record.

Noll, a graduate of the University of Dayton, played seven seasons as guard and linebacker for the Cleveland Browns from 1953 to 1959. He was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Colts for nine years before accepting his first and only head-coaching job with the Steelers in 1969.