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RIP Chuck Noll

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Inky_Wretch, Jun 13, 2014.

  1. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    That was certainly his reputation. Very intelligent man who had little patience for people wasting his time with stupidity.

    Somebody asked if he was a screamer. From everything I read, he wasn't one to raise his voice. He was able to do more with a glare than many coaches could do screaming their heads off.
     
  2. 3_Octave_Fart

    3_Octave_Fart Well-Known Member

    I also seem to remember him guest-conducting the Pittsburgh symphony.
     
  3. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    I have no idea if that photo was from his actual guest appearance, but yes, he did.

    Gene Collier's column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a mention of it as well as telling a story in which Collier ended up on the receiving end of a glare from Noll.

    http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/2014/06/15/Gene-Collier-Noll-left-superbly-quietly-into-night/stories/201406150203
     
  4. 3_Octave_Fart

    3_Octave_Fart Well-Known Member

    Good piece.
    I think Noll was a lot smarter than folks gave him credit for, with an interesting mind.
    He was into a lot of different things.
     
  5. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Maybe this is just from growing up in Pittsburgh, but I always remember him getting a great deal of respect for his intelligence. Very bright guy but also a tough SOB. I heard and read stories about him being a tough guy as a player and I think he felt he had to keep that image as a coach. I had the good fortune to participate in a group interview he gave not long after he retired and it was clear he had mellowed considerably.
     
  6. 3_Octave_Fart

    3_Octave_Fart Well-Known Member

    Well, I mean look at his coaching peers from the 1970s.
    Landry was practically deified despite winning less than Noll and being beaten by his teams. Hailed as innovator and skilled tactician.
    Madden is more famous than Noll was, for obvious reasons.
    Shula is considered on the short list of the greatest coaches of all time.
    Nobody was really throwing around genius dust in association with Noll, as numerous lesser coaches have gotten.
     
  7. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    I see your point. I think he does get lost a bit, partially because there were so many Hall of Famers on those teams. Of course, he played a big role in drafting and developing those players.

    From everything I've heard or read about Noll and my own observations, I don't think he would have cared at all that people underestimate him as long as they respected his teams.
     
  8. 3_Octave_Fart

    3_Octave_Fart Well-Known Member

    He hasn't even been properly recognized for advances made by black players under his watch.
    Joe Gilliam should be the subject of A Football Life.
     
  9. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

  10. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    I can't imagine Noll letting something like the color of a player's skin get in the way of giving his team its best chance to win. Gilliam scuttled his own career by refusing to listen to Noll on the field and doing drugs off it.
     
  11. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    In that way, perhaps having so many HOF players on the roster worked against him, sort of the old "well, anybody could win with that team" line.
     
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