Chuck Noll was named the 14th head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 27, 1969….after Penn State coach Joe Paterno turned down an offer for the position…..as Noll was the youngest coach in NFL history at the time…..when Steelers owner Art Rooney would later credit Don Shula as the person who recommended Noll as a head coach. Noll implemented a defensive system in Pittsburgh that became the legendary “Steel Curtain” defense…..and his coaching style earned him the nickname of The Emperor Chaz by sports announcer Myron Cope. Noll was the first head coach to win four Super Bowls, coaching the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl IX (1975), Super Bowl X (1976), Super Bowl XIII (1979) and Super Bowl XIV (1980).
The key to Noll’s coaching success during this run was the Steelers’ skill in selecting outstanding players in the NFL college player draft…..when Noll’s first round one pick was Joe Greene, a defensive tackle from North Texas State….who went on to become a perennial All-Pro….and anchor the defensive line. During the next few years, the Steelers drafted quarterback Terry Bradshaw out of Louisiana Tech and running back Franco Harris out of Penn State….also as round one picks. In the 1974 draft, Noll and the Steelers achieved a level of drafting success never seen before or since…..when they selected four future Hall of Fame players with their first five picks…..to include wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, middle linebacker Jack Lambert and center Mike Webster. To this day, no other draft by any team has included more than two future Hall of Famers.
