Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney:
As for the football end of it, I think he ranks with Halas and Lombardi. There are many other good coaches over the history of the NFL, but I think Chuck Noll ranks up there with those other two guys right at the top. No other coach won four Super Bowls, and the way he did it was with dignity. His players were always his concern, both in treating them well and giving them what they needed to succeed on the field.
As far as personally, Chuck was a good friend. His wife, Marianne, is a delightful person and really had helped him through his illness. Chuck, Marianne, Patricia and I spent a lot of time together. He was a very bright guy and experienced a lot of interesting things during his life, but he also was a very private person.
He never won Coach of the Year until 1989, but he didn't care about those things. He did what he felt was right, and it carried over obviously to the football team. Chuck Noll was a coach who always was concerned with the basics of the sport. He always used to say, 'This game is blocking and tackling,' and to him that was playing the game the way it should be played.
*Steelers President Art Rooney II: *When Chuck became our head coach he brought a change to the whole culture of the organization. Even in his first season when we won only one game, there was a different feel to the team. He set a new standard for the Steelers that still is the foundation of what we do and who we are. From the players to the coaches to the front office down to the ball boys, he taught us all what it took to be a winner.
Chuck was a wonderful person in addition to being a great football coach. The positive influence he had on so many people also will be part of his legacy.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
