Chuck Noll

Chuck Noll was the consummate teacher. Every day with him was a lesson. Sometimes it was a lesson in X's and O's. Sometimes it was a lesson in technique. And sometimes it could be a lesson in history, vocabulary, or life in general. It was not unusual for Chuck to stop practice during team drills and address us by saying: "Understand what we're trying to do here. Don't just learn your position. Learn the entire offense. You don't have to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest guy to make plays. If you understand the game, you will put yourself into a position to make plays." That advice is something I heeded as a player and still follow as an analyst. It is part of what make Chuck one of the greatest coaches of all time. If you played for Chuck, you knew the game. I think that's why so many of his former players went into coaching or broadcasting.

The first time I met Chuck was before the 1980 NFL Draft when the Steelers brought three guys — Nate Johnson, Ted Walton, and me — in for physicals. I was just intimidated, awed and I wondered, Is there really a chance I could get drafted here? They're the four-time Super Bowl champs. What would they want from an undersized guy from Indiana State?

The Steelers drafted me anyway, and my first encounter pretty much matched what it was like playing for Chuck — even after I had established myself. Noll could look at you and make you piss down your leg. You were just always uncomfortable around him because he was Chuck Noll and you had this image of him and you were trying to please him. Every time he looked at you, it was like he could see through you. He had that steely gaze, that stare, if you will, but he was a great coach, and I loved playing for him.

Our practices were brutal, and Chuck even had us cut block in practice, which is unheard of today. Training camp was a battle of attrition, and you figured they would back off once we got into the season. But we would be in full pads, and Chuck would be pushing buttons, and guys would be frothing at the mouth.

The thing about the game — it is one-upmanship. You win one, and I'm going to come back and win the next one. One day in my fourth season, Keith Gary and I were going at it, and it was a brutal practice. He would push me, and I would push him. One play he grabbed my facemask and he twisted it. I went ballistic. I was screaming, "I'm going to f'n kill you!" We were fighting and it got broken up, but I had snapped. Guys were trying to separate us, and all I saw was Gary over there and I was trying to get to him.

It seemed like the more guys that got in my way, the more my temper just went. I was going crazy and then I heard this voice, "All right, now I'm pissed off because you just punched me in the mouth." I looked at Chuck, and his lip was split. I said, "Oh. My. Goodness."

All of the sudden I went from a million miles an hour to Uh oh. I'm gone. Back then my wife, Sharon, and I lived in a townhouse complex in Bethel Park, and John Goodman, a defensive end, lived right across the street from us. John always beat me home from practice because I'd get in a lift and I had to watch a ton of film. A lot of times Sharon would see him coming and she'd ask him if he wanted to come to dinner because she always wanted to help people, and he was a bachelor. Here is the exchange that ensued after that practice:

Sharon: "J.R., do you want to come over for dinner?"

John: "I don't think so. I don't think you are going to be living there much longer."

Sharon: "What do you mean?"

John: "Tunch just hit Chuck. You guys are probably going to get cut."

Here is the conversation that took place after I got home:

Sharon: "You punched Chuck?"

Me: "I wasn't trying to!"

Sharon: "Did he come and talk to you after practice?"

Me: "No, he didn't say anything to me."

Sharon: "Oh my gosh, what do you think is going to happen?"

Me: "Honey, if I was going to get cut, I think they would have already done it. I don't think he's going to sit around and think about it."

I didn't get cut and played 12 seasons for Chuck, and, boy, was it a different relationship with him. One training camp we went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to practice against the Washington Redskins. We had a really good practice against them, and Chuck was in a really good mood. That night after practice they got a bunch of pizzas for all of the players, and Chuck was hanging out with the guys. Jon Kolb, who had become the strength coach, Mike Webster, Craig Wolfley, and I were having pizza and just drinking a beer with Chuck, who was really affable and very gracious. It was really this great time and it was almost like the first time I connected socially with Chuck. I think we all felt that way, and everybody was feeling really good about themselves.

Early the next day, we returned to camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It was a long bus ride, and everyone was tired. Chuck said, "All right, go get your pads on. We're meeting out on the practice field in 20 minutes." I thought, Where is the guy from last night? Social Chuck was short-lived. All of the sudden, it was back to basics.

We lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the old Kingdome in 1981, and in the postgame team address, Chuck said, "We got outhit today. We've got to get back to basics." Normally the coaches have their own locker room and shower room, but for whatever reason, the coaches were showering with the players after that game. Wolf and I were in the shower, and he just started going off, saying: "Back to basics! Oh man, that is going to be miserable. It's going to be like camp. Back to basics? C'mon! We're eight weeks into the season! We don't need to be back to basics."

Chuck had a way of popping up when you least expected him to. Wolf, who didn't know Chuck was there, was lathering his hair and he kept going: "Back to basics. Back to basics." Wolf was facing me, and I started subtly shaking my head, trying to get him to stop. He was still saying "back to basics," when all of the sudden Wolf turned around and saw the coach who Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope had dubbed "Chaz the Emperor." Chuck just gave him this look and Wolf said, "Yeah, we've got to get back to basics this week."

Wolf's Words

We were in the locker room after the game, and Chuck was holding court with the media because they didn't have the press rooms like they do today. I heard a couple of clips, and with Coach Noll, you knew it was just going to be a horrible week to follow because he was speaking words that meant you were getting back to training camp and you were going to have loads of one-on-one drills, loads of...