Hiring Chuck Noll was the best decision we ever made for the Steelers, team owner Dan Rooney wrote in his autobiography. Truer words were never written. Like most good things in Pittsburgh, Chuck Noll came from Cleveland. He was born in Cleveland, played at Benedictine High School, and was the most famous of the messenger guards who alternated with other offensive guards to relay Paul Browns plays to Otto Graham. He and the Steelers also benefited from something we hardly see anymore on the part of NFL owners-PATIENCE. His first three seasons as coach of the Steelers were losing seasons. But the Rooneys believed that they had found the coach that would turn the Steelers around. In Nolls fourth year as coach, it was obvious they were right. Because of that patience, Art Rooney and Chuck Noll are in the NFL Hall of Fame. And Dan Rooney should be. (Memo to Jimmy Haslam: There is a lesson here. If you believe in Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine, stick with them through the end of their contracts. If you dont, why did you hire them in the first place?) So, Happy Fathers Day in Heaven to Chuck Noll, the no-nonsense Clevelander who fathered the Steelers dynasty, now released from his sad earthly health problems in recent years. When you meet Mike Webster there, Chuck, youll probably have to bawl him out. Because thats what fathers have to do, sometimes. But after that, remember to smile and give him a hug. One more thing. I will hear no more from anyone who says that Art Modell should be in the Hall of Fame. He could have hired Chuck Noll to coach the Browns after Blanton Collier retired, and stuck with him as long as Art and Dan Rooney did. Alas, he went and traded Paul Warfield, drafted a Big Ten quarterback nothing like Otto Graham, and hired Nick Skorich as coach. Art Modell always thought he was smarter than everyone else. Once in a while he was, but usually, he thought he was a football and financial genius, and thats when he outsmarted himself. Meanwhile, the Rooneys, the Steelers and Noll patiently rose from years of bad football and won Four Super Bowls. Thems the breaks.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 15:02:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015