RIP Chuck Noll

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

R.I.P.

[Bolt-O]

He was a defensive assistant coach for the Bolts in the olden days.... R.I.P.

[Geezbolt]

He was a defensive assistant coach for the Bolts in the olden days.... R.I.P.

He was a member of the original Chargers coaching staff and one of the many of Sid Gillman's coaching tree to have great success in his own right. RIP Chuck and thanks for helping bring the Bolts their championship in '63.

[Millionaire Wussy]

I'll remember him as one of my favorite Head Coaches. I LOVED the Steelers from 1972 until 1976. Thank you Mr. Noll.

[thelightningwill]

RIP Chuck Noll. I never loved the Steelers though.

[Millionaire Wussy]

I didn't realize how intensely I loved this man. It's weird how you don't quite know how attached/connected you are to someone until they're gone.

Great Coach and leader of men.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11081757&categoryid=2459789

[6025]

Chuck Noll was one of the all time greats. He built one of the greatest defenses of all time. It was a pleasure to see the Bolts rip their asses in 1979 35-7 because I knew how great Noll's Steelers were - they were a measuring stick and the Chargers just blew them apart.

RIP Chuck.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Chuck Noll was one of the all time greats. He built one of the greatest defenses of all time. It was a pleasure to see the Bolts rip their asses in 1979 35-7 because I knew how great Noll's Steelers were - they were a measuring stick and the Chargers just blew them apart.

RIP Chuck.

One of my all-time favorite Chargers games. That 79' Chargers team was sooooooo good.

[bonehead]

Chuck Noll was one of the all time greats. He built one of the greatest defenses of all time. It was a pleasure to see the Bolts rip their asses in 1979 35-7 because I knew how great Noll's Steelers were - they were a measuring stick and the Chargers just blew them apart.

RIP Chuck.

My first Chargers game ever!


I was in the bleachers under the scoreboard for that one with a bottle of Schnapps and my buddy Diver.....good times

[Heatmiser]

Noll was one of the greatest coaches ever in the NFL. Right up there with Lombardi. Taught and demanded the basics. No rah-rah. No emotion. No motivation. Just made sure his team was better prepared than everyone else. And man, could he draft. Joe Greene, Bradshaw, Donnie Shell, Glen Edwards, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, LC Greenwood, Franco Harris, Rocky Blier, Swann, Stallworth, Mike Webster and on and on. Tons of hall of famers.

Those of you too young to remember, please do yourself a favor and read "Fighting Back" the story of Rocky Blier. A true hero. Rocky got drafted real late out of Notre Dame by the steelers then got drafted by the US Govt to fight in Viet Nam. Had half of his leg blown off by a hand grenade. Was not supposed to be able to walk again. Ended up playing for the Steelers for about a decade, had a 1000 yd season, caught a TD in the superbowl. Great story and a great man. Not a Steeler story, just a great story.

Noll did not even let his players cheer for their teammates on the sidelines. He said that only lasted for a few seconds at best and did not win games. Practice won games. Being prepared. Executing. Not cheering and nice speeches.

When Noll retired, you never heard from him. No self promotion, books, speaking tours. He just spent time with his family.

Great coach. Great man.

TG

[Steve]

One of the other things that gets lost with his accomplishment is that the other teams in the AFC were the Hank Stram Chiefs, the Shula Dolphins and the Madden Raiders. That is pretty good company and those teams were going head to head in the regular season and AFC playoffs every year during that stretch.

[Millionaire Wussy]

freakin Steel Curtain was badass with Holmes, White, Greene, and Greenwood. Then you had Lambert, Russell, and Ham. Blount in the secondary. Those mid-70's Steelers teams were AWESOME. And they had Franco and Rocky getting 1,000 yards EACH back when there were only 14 games. THAT was a football team.