Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team.
After a seven-year playing career that included two NFL Championships as a member of his hometown Cleveland Browns and several years as an assistant coach with various teams, in 1969 Noll took the helm of the Steelers (which had played in only one playoff game in its previous 36 years, a 21–0 loss), and turned it into a perennial contender. As a head coach, Noll won four Super Bowls, four AFC titles and nine Central Division championships, compiled a overall record, a 16–8 playoff record and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons. His tenure was defined by a dominant Steelers team, built on the legendary "Steel Curtain" defense and a potent offense. With Terry Bradshaw at quarterback, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth led the attack, while defensive greats Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, and Mel Blount anchored one of the most feared units in NFL history. His four Super Bowl victories rank second behind Bill Belichick for the most of any head coach in NFL history, and are the most ever by a head coach without a Super Bowl loss.
Between his playing and coaching tenures, Noll won a total of seven NFL Championships as well as one AFL Championship and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.
Noll built the team through astute drafting and meticulous tutoring. During his career, he was notable for the opportunities he gave African Americans, starting the first black quarterback in franchise history and hiring one of the first black assistant coaches in league history. He was often credited with maintaining the morale of Western Pennsylvania, despite the region's steep economic decline in the late 20th century, by creating a team of champions in the image of its blue collar fan base.
Early life Noll was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of three siblings (by eight years) of William Noll, a butcher, frequently unable to work owing to Parkinson's disease, and Katherine Steigerwald Noll, a florist.Gary M. Pomerantz, Their Life's Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers (Simon & Schuster: 2013), p. 62 The family lived in the house Noll's mother grew up in with her 12 siblings, near East 74th Street, in a neighborhood with a large African-American population, a fact that helps account for Noll's early championing of opportunity for African Americans in the NFL (both players from traditionally black colleges and later as coaches).
On a local youth football team Noll played with Harold Owens, the nephew of Olympic star Jesse Owens. Noll attended Benedictine High School. He began working in seventh grade and by the time he entered high school, he had saved enough for two-years' worth of the $150 tuition. Throughout high school he continued to work, making 55-cent an hour at Fisher Brothers meat market after school. Education was always important to him, so despite the schedule, he studied enough to graduate 28th in his class of 252.
Playing career Noll played running back and tackle on the high school football team, winning All-State honors. During his senior year, he was named to the "All Catholic Universe" team by the Diocese of Cleveland newspaper.Bill Livingston & Gregg Brinda, The Great Book of Cleveland Sports Lists (Running Press: 2008), p. 28 Noll was also a wrestler while in high school.Abbott, Gary. Top 10 Wrestlers Who Played in the NFL. nwhof.org. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
Noll planned to attend Notre Dame, but during a practice before his freshman year he suffered an epileptic seizure on the field. Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy refused to take the risk of allowing Noll to play there and so Noll accepted a football scholarship to the University of Dayton. Noll graduated with a degree in secondary education. As a member of the Flyers, he was a lineman, linebacker and a co-captain, and acquired the nickname, the "Pope," for his "'infallible' grasp of the game."Rob Ruck, Maggie Jones Patterson & Michael P. Weber, Rooney: A Sporting Life (University of Nebraska Press: 2010) ["Ruck, Patterson & Weber"], p. 169.
Cleveland Browns Noll was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 20th round of the 1953 NFL draft (239th overall). During his first year, the Browns lost to the Detroit Lions in the NFL championship. The next two years, however, the Browns were NFL champions, and Noll finished his NFL career with eight interceptions, three fumble recoveries, and a touchdown on one of each.
Although the undersized Noll was drafted as a linebacker, Coach Paul Brown used him as one of his "messenger guards" to send play calls to the quarterback, beginning with Otto Graham. Brown recalled that Noll soon "could have called the plays himself without any help from the bench. That's how smart he was." According to Art Rooney, Jr., director of scouting for the Steelers before and during most of Noll's tenure, Noll felt demeaned by Brown's use of him in that way and "disliked the term 'messenger boy' so much that as coach of the Steelers he entrusted all the play calling to his quarterbacks."Art Rooney, Jr. & Roy McHugh, Ruanaidh: The Story of Art Rooney and His Clan (Geyer Printing Co. [for Art Rooney, Jr.]: c2008), p. 241.
Noll was paid only $5,000 per season with the Browns and so while there he acted as substitute teacher at Holy Name High School and sold insurance on the side. During that period Noll also attended Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at night. He told Dan Rooney that he decided against becoming a lawyer because "he didn't really like the constant confrontation and arguments that come with being a lawyer."Dan Rooney (as told to Andrew E. Masich, Andrew & David F. Halaas), Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL (Da Capo Press: 2007).
When Noll lost the starting guard position to John Wooten, he chose to retire at age 27 expecting to begin his coaching career at his alma mater. He was surprised, however, when he was not offered an open position on the University of Dayton coaching staff. He was offered a position by Sid Gillman on the staff of the Los Angeles Chargers, during its inaugural season.
Coaching career
Noll was an assistant coach for the American Football League's then Los Angeles and later San Diego Chargers from 1960 to 1965. He then became assistant to head coach Don Shula of the NFL Baltimore Colts from 1965 to 1968, when he was selected as the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach.
Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers Noll is considered part of Sid Gillman's coaching tree. He later remembered Gillman as "one of the game's prime researchers and offensive specialists. In six years, I had more exposure to football than I normally would have received in 12 years." During Noll's six-year tenure with the Chargers, where he was defensive line coach, the defensive backfield coach and defensive coordinator, the team appeared in five AFL championship games.Lahman, p. 260. Gillman said that Noll "had a great way with players," specifically "If a guy didn't do the job expected, Chuck could climb on his back."Ed Gruver, The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969 (McFarland: 1997) ["Gruver"], p. 97. Massive defensive tackle Ernie Ladd said that Noll was a "fiery guy" but also "the best teacher I ever played under." "He and I were always fighting, always squabbling, but he had a great way of teaching. I take my hat off to Chuck. He was one of the main reasons for our success." The defensive line under Noll became known as the "Fearsome Foursome," and during 1961 defensive end Earl Faison was named AFL rookie of the year.
During Noll's time at Chargers, Al Davis was also an assistant and scout. Davis would later become coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, the principal AFC rival of the Steelers' in the 1970s.
Baltimore Colts With the Colts, Noll was defensive backfield coach and later defensive coordinator. Together with assistant coach Bill Arnsparger the Colts employed shifting alignments of rotating zone and maximum blitz defensive packages.Gruver, p. 216. In 1968, Noll's last season as defensive coordinator, the Baltimore Colts compiled a 13–1 record in the regular season and tied the NFL season record for fewest points allowed (144).The record has since been broken by the 1977 Atlanta Falcons (129).
Shula was impressed by Noll's approach: "He explained how to do things and wrote up the technique. He was one of the first coaches I was around that wrote up in great detail all of the techniques used by players—for example, the backpedal and the defensive back's position on the receiver. He was like a classroom teacher."
The Colts won the NFL championship by routing the Cleveland Browns 34–0 in Cleveland, but were shocked by the upstart AFL champion New York Jets, 16–7, in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The next day, Noll interviewed for the head coach position in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers
At age 37, Noll was named the 14th head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 27, , after Penn State coach Joe Paterno turned down an offer for the position. At the time of his hiring, he was the youngest head coach in the NFL. Steelers owner Art Rooney would later credit Don Shula as the person who recommended Noll as a head coach.
Noll inherited a struggling team that had yet to record a postseason victory and regularly trotted out short-term coaches with Noll being the 16th coaching change in the 36 years of the franchise's existence. In his first season as head coach, Noll led the Steelers to their worst season to date in franchise history, finishing with a 1–13 record. This record allowed for the Steelers to hold the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL draft which the team used to select Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Prior to the 1970 season, Noll cut much of the team's roster. Laying the foundation for the coaching style he later became known for, Noll told the team, "The reason you've been losing is you're not any good. You're not fast enough, you're not strong enough, you're not quick enough, you're not smart enough. I'm going to have to get rid of most of you." In total, only 14 players from the 1969 roster returned in 1970. With a rebuilding team, Noll helped the Steelers improve to a record of 5–9, moving them to third place in the AFC Central. Noll became known during practice to dwell on fundamentals—such as the three-point stance, things that professional players were expected to know. Andy Russell, already a Pro Bowl linebacker before Noll arrived and one of the few players Noll kept after purging the roster, was told by Noll that he didn't have his feet positioned correctly. Excerpt from Chad Millman & Shawn Coyne, The Ones Who Hit the Hardest: The Steelers, the Cowboys, the 70s and the Fight for America's Soul (Gotham: 2010).