Noll still the NFL’s greatest coach
Steelers coach Chuck Noll, center, leaves the field with Jimmy Allen (45) after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Steelers coach Chuck Noll holds the Vince Lombardi trophy. The Steelers won four Super Bowls under Noll.
Who will be called the greatest Super Bowl coach during Super Bowl 100 week in 2066?
Will Chuck Noll hold on to the title he earned from the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters this week as the coach of the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team?
Noll’s Steelers won four championships in six years.
What will it take to knock him out of the top spot? Will Bill Belichick win his fifth before he retires?
You know what? It shouldn’t matter because nobody accused Noll of cheating.
No matter how many more times Belichick goes to or wins a Super Bowl, he’s going to have Spygate to taint his record.
Noll took over a team that had established itself as the worst major professional team in the history of North American sports and ran off his only star player, wide receiver Roy Jefferson, as part of a major housecleaning.
He came within a fake punt by the undefeated Miami Dolphins of going to the Super Bowl in his fourth season – 1972.
Of course, he got a little help from something called The Immaculate Reception to advance to that AFC Championship Game.
But it took him five seasons to build the dynasty that started its run of four Super Bowls in six years in 1974.
Noll might have done the greatest coaching job in North American history from 1969 to 1979. He didn’t just turn a laughingstock into what many consider the best NFL team of all time. His defenses changed the game forever.
Cam Newton and Peyton Manning will complete a lot of passes next week that would not have been completed if not for the rules changes brought about by Noll’s defenses.
Tom Brady has hundreds of completions that wouldn’t have happened if the league hadn’t stopped allowing defenders to bump receivers who were more than five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Mel Blount, one of seven Steelers players to make Golden Anniversary team, made that his specialty.
Even Joe Montana, named quarterback of that team, can thank Noll. The West Coast offense was created to take advantage of the receivers being allowed to run free after five years.
Montana threw a lot of eight-yard slants to Jerry Rice, another Super Bowl 50 Golden teamer who can thank Noll, knowing that Rice would still be upright when he let the ball go.
Remember, before he became the Steelers’ head coach, Noll was a defensive coordinator under Don Shula on some pretty good Baltimore Colts teams.
Noll won his last Super Bowl 36 years ago, and he did it by taking advantage of the rules his leadership helped to change – having the best passing combination in the league.
There might be some debate about the players who made the Super Bowl 50 Golden team but there can’t be any about the coach. He left some huge shoes to fill for whoever is named to the 100th anniversary team.
I’ll bet he wins it again.
• Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was defending the Pirates’ offseason thriftiness Friday on 93.7 The Fan when he said, “I understand that people think the ability to spend other people’s money is really, really simple.”
Pirates fans and many in the media like to point out that the team is owned by a billionaire and they think he has an obligation to spend whatever it takes to win a championship.
Of course, he has no such obligation.
Bob Nutting is selling a product.
His customers have no obligation to pay for it. If you contributed to his wealth by buying season tickets last season and you expect your contribution to equate to a bigger payroll and a better team in 2016, then don’t renew your tickets if you don’t like the looks of the 2016 team.
Baseball teams make their money in the offseason with advance ticket sales.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense for you to send Nutting a check if you’re not happy with the product.
When I clicked on The Fan’s website to find the quote from Nutting, a video commercial for his ski resort popped up. If the amount of snow we’ve had this winter has any bearing on Nutting’s willingness to spend money on his baseball team, nobody should expect any major increases in the 2016 payroll.
John Steigerwald writes a Sunday sports column for the Observer-Reporter.