Chuck Noll

Chuck Noll
Noll (1954)
Positions: HC , G , LB	Jersey number (s): 65
born January 5, 1932 in Cleveland , Ohio
died on June 13, 2014 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
Career information
Active : 1953 - 1991
NFL Draft : 1953 / Round: 20 / Pick: 239
College : University of Dayton
Teams
as a player Cleveland Browns (1953-1959) as an assistant coach Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers (1960–1965) Baltimore Colts (1966-1968) as head coach Pittsburgh Steelers (1969–1991)
Career statistics
Games	77
Interceptions	8th
Touchdowns	2
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards
2 × NFL Coach of the Year Award NFL 1970s All-Decade Team NFL 1980s All-Decade Team Pro Football Hall of Fame (1993) University of Dayton Athletics Hall of Fame as head coach 4 × Super Bowl winners ( IX , X , XIII , XIV ) 4 × AFC champions as a player 2 × NFL champions (1954, 1955) as an assistant coach AFL master NFL champions
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll (* 5. January 1932 in Cleveland , Ohio ; † 13. June 2014 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) was an American American football player and - coaches in the National Football League (NFL). Noll won the Super Bowl four times as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers .

player

college

Chuck Noll was born into a family from Germany in Cleveland. Even in high school , he played American football. After graduating from high school, he received a scholarship to the University of Dayton and studied teaching. For the college football team , the Daytona Flyers , he also played American football as the team's captain.

professional

Noll was selected in 1953 by the Cleveland Browns in the 20th round as the 239 player in the NFL Draft . For the Browns trained by Paul Brown , he first played as a guard and later switched to the position of linebacker . In defense the team played numerous All-Pro poker players like Len Ford or Dante Lavelli . In his rookie year , Noll failed in the NFL championship game 17:16 at the Detroit Lions . In the following years, both finals could be won. In 1954 against the Lions at 54:10 and in 1955 against the Los Angeles Rams at 38:14. In both games Noll was used as a starter . In 1957 and 1958, the Browns failed twice in the NFL final. After the 1959 season, Noll ended his playing career.

Trainer

Assistant coach

In 1960, Noll was an assistant coach of Sid Gillman at the Los Angeles Chargers . The Chargers played in the newly formed American Football League (AFL), a competitive league of the NFL. As a player Noll was coaching Defense specialist and was with the team from Los Angeles and since 1961 from San Diego in charge of the defense. The Chargers were able to establish themselves immediately as the top team in the league. By 1965 they moved a total of five times in the AFL championship game . In 1963, the Boston Patriots were beaten 51:10 in the final. Noll's back defense allowed only 186 yards of space gain through passing play , the Chargers reached 292 yards. With the overall gain in space, the ratio of 610 to 291 yards was even clearer.

After the 1965 season, Noll moved to the Baltimore Colts trained by Don Shula . The Colts, an NFL team, were known for their outstanding offense , led by quarterback Johnny Unitas , but the Baltimore team's defense was also very well staffed with players like Bobby Boyd and Mike Curtis . Noll took responsibility for the team's defensive backfield . 1967 Bubba Smith could be hired as reinforcement for the defense. The Colts had a good year in 1967, but failed in the last game of the regular season in the play-offs . The following year, however, they were able to prevail in the NFL final against the Browns 34-0. Noll's defensive backfield allowed only 117 yards of space to be gained through passing play, compared to 169 yards of space gained by the Colts. By winning the final, the Colts were able to move into the Super Bowl , but in Super Bowl III they had to admit defeat to the New York Jets, trained by Weeb Ewbank , 16: 7. Although the game was even for a long time, the Colts defense was unable to stop the Jets quarterback Joe Namath , who repeatedly knew how to play his wide receivers .

Head coach

The word of Noll's successes had got around in the NFL. In 1969, Joe Paterno turned down the offer to train the Pittsburgh Steelers . The way was clear for Chuck Noll, who remained loyal to the Steelers until 1991. Defense specialist Noll took over one of the worst teams in the league. His goal was to use the draft to bind young, talented players to the team. He himself saw his task in conveying his game philosophy to the players. Success was achieved through a defense that did not allow the opponent to develop. Noll succeeded in asserting himself with this philosophy. His defense was nicknamed Steel Curtain and dominated the NFL for the next few years.

Joe Greene joined the team in 1969 and Noll began to gradually strengthen his team. In 1970, quarterback Terry Bradshaw and cornerback Mel Blount joined the team, and in 1971 Mel Hein was signed . In 1972, the Steelers, under the leadership of Noll, moved into the play-offs for the first time with their new running back Franco Harris , but where the team failed early on the Miami Dolphins , trained by Don Shula . Before the 1974 season, the Steelers could then make other crucial player commitments. In addition to signing Mike Webster and Jack Lambert , John Stallworth and Lynn Swann were able to tie two strong wide receivers to the club. As intended by Noll, his defense developed into a bulwark, his steel curtain was well positioned.

In 1974, the Pittsburgh team coached by Noll won the Super Bowl for the first time . In Super Bowl IX , the Minnesota Vikings were beaten 16: 6. The game was predominantly dominated by the two defensive lines and the Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton could not influence the game of his team decisively. In 1975 the second entry into the Super Bowl followed and this time the Steelers were able to prevail in Super Bowl X against the Dallas Cowboys with 21:17. Nolls Steel Curtain forced the Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach to make three game-changing interceptions . In 1978 Noll managed to move into the Super Bowl for the third time with his team. In Super Bowl XIII , the opponents were again the cowboys. The 35:31 victory had to be fought hard. The cowboys trained by Tom Landry turned out to be equal opponents. Bradshaw had an excellent day though and scored four touchdowns . Noll and the Steelers were also able to close the 1979 season with a Super Bowl win. The Los Angeles Rams qualified as an NFC team. Until the end of the third quarter of the game, the Steelers could not break away decisively. It was only in the final quarter of the game that Terry Bradshaw managed a 73-yard touchdown pass to Stallworth and Franco Harris a run into the Rams' end zone . The 31:19 win was Noll's fourth and final Super Bowl win. By 1991 Noll was able to move into the play-offs four times with his team. After the 1991 season, which ended with seven wins and nine losses, Noll retired. He was replaced by Bill Cowher .

Noll played 342 games as head coach. Of those, he won 193 games, which is an average of 56.6 percent. Of his 24 games in the play-offs, he was able to win 16 - a win rate of 66.7 percent.

meaning

Chuck Noll was not only able to win numerous titles, he was also the supporter of dark-skinned players and coaches such as Franco Harris, Mel Blount, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. They are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Tony Dungy was a player and assistant coach at Noll and won Super Bowl XLI as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts .

Honors

Charles Henry Noll has been voted NFL Coach of the Year twice . He is a member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team , the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1993. In Super Bowl XXVI and Super Bowl XXXI , he flipped the coin to choose a seat. The Saint Vincent College named a playing field for him.

Private

Noll was married and had one child. He lived in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Chuck Noll was buried in Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Web links

• Chuck Noll with the Cleveland Browns ( October 21, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive )
• Chuck Noll with the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Biography of Chuck Noll (PDF; 55 kB)
• Coach statistics from Chuck Noll
• Richard Goldstein: Chuck Noll, Coach of Steelers' 1970s Dynasty, Dies at 82. Obituary in The New York Times, June 14, 2014 (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 1953 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
2. ↑ 1954 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Championship - Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns - December 26th, 1954. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
4. ↑ 1955 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Championship - Cleveland Browns at Los Angeles Rams - December 26th, 1955. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
6. ↑ 1957 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
7. ↑ 1958 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
8. ^ Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers Team Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
9. ↑ 1963 San Diego Chargers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Championship - Boston Patriots at San Diego Chargers - January 5th, 1964. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
11. ↑ 1967 NFL Standings & Team Stats. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
12. ↑ 1968 Baltimore Colts Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Championship - Baltimore Colts at Cleveland Browns - December 29th, 1968. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Super Bowl III - New York Jets vs. Baltimore Colts - January 12th, 1969. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
15. ↑ 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
16. ↑ 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
17. ↑ 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
18. ↑ 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
19. ↑ Super Bowl X - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys - January 18th, 1976. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
20. ^ 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Super Bowl XIII - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys - January 21st, 1979. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
22. ↑ 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
23. ↑ Super Bowl XIV - Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - January 20th, 1980. Retrieved January 21, 2019 . 
24. ↑ Obituary
25. ↑ Chuck Noll's grave in the Find a Grave database