Cowher & Noll: Different approaches, same success

Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
01/07/2007

Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher, the only head coaches of the Steelers for the past 38 years, went about their business with opposite personalities.

Even their nicknames imply differences between the two Pittsburgh icons.

Noll is "The Emperor."

Cowher is "The Jaw."

Once when asked if he had charisma, Noll said, "Yes, in my yard ... where it belongs," in reference to a rose he grew at a home in Upper St. Clair.

Meanwhile, for the past 15 years as Noll's successor, Cowher has coached with an outward passion unmatched by any of his contemporaries.

"I'm an emotional guy," Cowher said Friday when he announced he's stepping down after a 15-year run with the Steelers. "I get mad if I lose an 18-hole golf match or if I lose to (personnel director) Kevin Colbert in a game of racquetball, which is like once a year. I am never going to lose that."

Tunch Ilkin, an analyst for the Steelers Radio Network, had the unique experience of playing for both Noll and Cowher, even if it was just one season under the latter.

"Two totally different personalities," said Ilkin, a former offensive tackle. "Chuck was much more serious. Some might say stoic, but I'd say serious. He wasn't the kind of guy who would crack jokes with the players. He didn't get close to his players. He kept that distance. Bill is just the opposite. He was more like a big brother to the guys. Chuck was more like a dad."

Still, there was something about Noll on Jan. 27, 1969, and something about Cowher on Jan. 21, 1992, that impressed Dan Rooney enough to hire both men.

Thirty-eight years ago, after taking over the day-to-day operations from his father, the late Art Rooney Sr., Dan Rooney changed the fortunes of a struggling franchise by hiring Noll. Twenty-three year later, Dan Rooney saw many of the same qualities in Cowher.

Noll, the secondary of the Baltimore Colts at the time, was just 37 years old.

Cowher, the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs at the time, was just 34 when he was hired.Both, however, would go on to become larger-than-life symbols of the Steelers' dynasty.

"You don't even try to compare yourself to a man like Chuck Noll," Cowher said. "I didn't come close to doing the things he did. No one will. He was one of a kind."

With 209 career wins, Noll ranks fifth on the NFL's all-time victory list. With 161 wins, Cowher ranks 13th.

Noll was 4-3 in AFC championship games and 4-0 in the Super Bowl. Cowher was 2-4 in AFC championship games and 1-1 in the Super Bowl.

"It just goes to show you that there are different ways of getting things done," said Dick Hoak, who retired Monday after serving 35 years as the Steelers' running backs coach (20 with Noll, 15 with Cowher).

"Bill's more of a motivator, a player's coach. Chuck wasn't as open. He believed that if you are here at this level, you should be able to motivate yourself."

When Noll first coached the Steelers in 1969, Cowher was 12 years old and playing for the Crafton Little Cougars midget football team.

Twenty three years later, Noll called it a career at a hastily called press conference at Three Rivers Stadium. He was making $700,000 a year at the time. Because Noll retired on short notice the day after Christmas, his press conference didn't get the coverage it deserved. But on Friday, nearly 75 media types crammed into a room at the Steelers' headquarters on the South Side of Pittsburgh to witness the resignation of Cowher, who earned a $4 million pay check this year.

"The quality and characteristics that we were looking for when we hired Chuck and Bill are things that we are looking for today," team president Art Rooney II as the Steelers began their search for a new coach for the first time in 38 years.

Rooney II can only hope he'll be as lucky as his father was when he hired Noll and Cowher, opposites in so many ways, but legends in their own right.

Times sports writer Mike Bires can be reached online at mbires@timesonline.com.

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2007