Chuck Noll's Thoughts On Teaching

One of favorite books is "The Game-Makers" by Jack Clary.  The book profiles NFL coaches: Paul Brown, Chuck Knox, Tom Landry, John Madden, Chuck Noll, Bum Phillips, John Ralston and Don Shula. The book was written in 1976 and is a great resource.

"Coaching is teaching and an efficient teacher can get the job done.  Efficiency is the prime objective from a teaching standpoint.  A teacher, or coach, cannot wander because he works with attention spans that are short for what he must acomplish.....The first thing I learned as an assistant coach was that you must be organized in your presentation and that only comes when you know what you're teaching."

"The Steeler Way"--Chuck Noll On Creating A Culture

Theodore Roosevelt said, "We need leaders who inspired idealism, leader whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls."

Chuck Noll was very clear on this point. His aim was to create a specific culture in everything he did and the way he did it--"The Steeler Way".

A player didn't have to be the biggest, fastest, or strongest at his position, and a coach didn't have to be the smartest or most creative, as long as everyone bought into the "Steeler Way".

When creating a culture, The Buy-In Factor is the key. It must be everywhere--trainers, strength coaches, academic advisors, office assistants, etc.