Pittsburgh's stability has been a driving force behind its success.
Pittsburgh's stability has been a driving force behind its success.
No matter the sport or whether it’s at the professional or collegiate ranks, all teams want stability. Having a solid foundation from the owner to the head coach is one of the building blocks to winning for any team in the NFL. Make changes too often and you lose an identity. Wait too late to make a change and your franchise can suffer a setback that takes years to recover.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a model of stability and success – arguably the best in the NFL or any sport – with three coaches over the last 42 years. While some teams may go through three coaches in 10 years, the Steelers have found the right answers – even if they may not be the most popular choice at the time.
Art Rooney founded Pittsburgh’s NFL team in 1933 and the franchise hasn’t left the family since. Art Rooney II largely runs the day-to-day operations now, with his father Dan spending most of his time in Ireland as an ambassador for the United States. With the team staying in the family for nearly 80 years, there has been no doubts about who is in control.
Although the Steelers are the NFL’s most stable and one of the more successful teams, it wasn’t always this easy. Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll’s first three seasons produced only 12 wins, and the Steelers posted a 156-240 record from 1933 to 1968.
Noll was named Pittsburgh’s head coach in 1969, which has undoubtedly changed the course of the franchise. Noll actually wasn’t Pittsburgh’s top choice when selecting a new coach. Penn State’s Joe Paterno was the top pick by the Rooney family, but turned down the Steelers to remain a collegiate head coach. Noll’s teams were built by the defense - something the Steelers still pride themselves on today.
During Noll’s tenure, the Steelers’ Steel Curtain defense boasted current Pro Football Hall of Fame members Mel Blount, Joe Greene, Jack Ham and Jack Lambert. The offense wasn’t short on talent, thanks to quarterback Terry Bradshaw, running back Franco Harris and receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.
Noll decided to retire after the 1991 season, which led Dan Rooney to pick a young defensive coordinator from Kansas City as the next head coach. Bill Cowher had no previous head coaching experience before being plucked to run the Steelers, but the move paid off. The Steelers won eight division titles under Cowher, made two trips to the Super Bowl, with one victory over Seattle in 2006.
Cowher stepped down after the 2007 season, leaving the Steelers with an important hire. The team was still in its prime, with the window open for more trips to the Super Bowl. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt or offensive line coach Russ Grimm were the fan favorites to succeed Cowher. However, the Rooney family decided to go outside of the Cowher coaching staff and pick a young defensive coordinator from Minnesota. The hire of Mike Tomlin was similar to Cowher – young, energetic and a defensive mind.
Although Tomlin was not the most popular choice by Steeler fans in 2007, the team hasn’t missed a beat under his direction. Tomlin has won at least nine games in every season, reached the playoffs three times and owns one Super Bowl ring.
Although Tomlin has a similar resume to Cowher, the Steelers have adopted a little different style. Cowher was criticized at times for being too conservative, while Tomlin has put his stamp on the Steelers by being more aggressive – as the game-winning third-down pass to beat the Jets or the onside kick attempt against the Packers in 2009.
The relationship between the Steelers and the fans is certainly different than some of the other teams in the NFL. Pittsburgh is known as a blue-collar town, especially back in the Noll era, where steel mills were littered the city. Pittsburgh has changed as a city from the 1970s to the 2000s, placing more emphasis on technology and less on the steel industry. However, that hasn’t changed the blue-collar attitude of the fanbase and the franchise – it’s almost a way of life. The Steelers also boast one of the league’s best traveling fan groups, easily recognizable at each game with the Terrible Towel.
Picking a new coach in the NFL is never an easy task, but the Steelers have hit a home run with their last three hires. The Rooney family clearly has a formula that works and barring a turnaround in fortune, Tomlin will be the next coach to spend 10-plus seasons on the sideline in the Steel City. Finding stability and an identity, along with success, is the goal of the other 31 teams in the NFL and something many have studied about Pittsburgh when building a franchise.
No matter if the Steelers win or lose on Sunday, the commitment to stability and the track record since the 1970’s suggests this won’t be the last time the Terrible Towels are proudly waved in a Super Bowl.
