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View Full Version : Chuck Noll did best work with Steelers after Super Bowl stretch



polamalubeast
06-16-2014, 03:08 PM
Some say a man's best work goes hand in hand with his accomplishments. For example, a performance that nets an actor an Academy Award must, so the thinking often goes, have been the best of his or her career. But that isn't really always the case, is it?

When I heard about the death of Chuck Noll -- the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers leader who I feel is the most underrated head coach of all time -- the following thought came to mind: When did Chuck Noll do his best coaching job? Well, I can tell you this: It didn't come during the Super Bowl years of the 1970s.

What constitutes a job well done? How about performing at near-peak level when no one expects it, when everybody thinks you're washed up, when your starting quarterback's name is "Bubby"?

That was what Chuck Noll did with the 1989 Steelers.


Twenty-five seasons ago, Pittsburgh was thought to be nowheresville when it came to prognostications for the AFC Central. Any and every magazine that made predictions had the Steelers finishing dead last. And, somewhat predictably, the 57-year-old Noll, who had by that point been on the job for 20 years, was being hit with the dreaded "the game has passed him by" knock.

That knock became more of a siren after the Steelers were pasted 51-zip by the Cleveland Browns in -- yes -- the home opener in Pittsburgh. That siren became a bullhorn when Noll's group fell to the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals by the score of 41-10 the following week. Two games, two losses to two divisional opponents -- with an abysmal combined score of 92-10.

"It's 1989, he's a decade past his last Super Bowl," says Dave Dameshek, an NFL Media colleague of mine -- and a Pittsburgh native. "There were no remnants of the dynasty ... the Super Bowls, at that point, were well in the rearview mirror."

"Then (former Noll assistant) Bud Carson comes in coaching the Cleveland Browns ... and it wasn't like, 'Wow the good times are over.' It was 51-nothin'."

The season was shaping up to be the ugly end of an era for a once-proud franchise and a head coach who had lifted the Steelers to regal heights, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in the 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979 seasons. In 1989, Pittsburgh's roster was devoid of elite veterans; there were no John Stallworths, Donnie Shells or Jack Lamberts to be found.



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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000358914/article/chuck-noll-did-best-work-with-steelers-after-super-bowl-stretch

tube517
06-16-2014, 03:23 PM
The 1984 team had no business being in the AFCC game. Mark Malone? Please.

He made the playoffs in 1982, 83, 84, 89 and had a winning season in 80 and 87.

Godfather
06-16-2014, 06:24 PM
The 1984 team had no business being in the AFCC game. Mark Malone? Please.

He made the playoffs in 1982, 83, 84, 89 and had a winning season in 80 and 87.

Can you imagine how good those '80s teams would have been with Marino?

polamalubeast
06-16-2014, 06:33 PM
Can you imagine how good those '80s teams would have been with Marino?


This mistake is the worst for the steelers since 1970

tube517
06-16-2014, 06:41 PM
Can you imagine how good those '80s teams would have been with Marino?

Yes. Now I'm depressed. :chuckle: