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7. Chuck Noll, 1969-1991
The mastermind behind the “Steel Curtain” and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s was head coach Chuck Noll. Four times he led the Steelers to a Super Bowl Championship in just a six year span. That is an incredible amount of success that is pretty much unparalleled in NFL history. However, he did coach Pittsburgh for a total of 23 years in his career. In those 23 years he led the Steelers to nine divisions championships.
His career winning percentage with the Steelers was .566, but it should be remembered that he took over an abysmal 2-11 team before he built the Steelers into one of the most dominant franchises in the history of the game. His playoff winning percentage was much more impressive; it was .667 overall in 24 postseason contests. He never won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award–for some reason–but was named Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club in 1989.
The Steelers are now widely regarded as one of the best franchises in the history in the NFL and they boast the most Super Bowl Championships in NFL history (six). Noll laid the foundation for this organization, its culture, and its expectations of success. Steelers Nation is, arguably, the strongest fan base in the nation and it all stems from Noll’s success.
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