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Show By POHLA SMITH UPI Yet Chuck Noll’s team is more difficult to Writer characterize that Chuck Noll himself PITTSBURGH (UPI) — Chuck Noll is leaning way wayback in a dirty, orange armchair in one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ conference rooms, unl Pfs @ saenenaie yet Noll, Steelers Twin Enigmas Somehow over the years, men as diverse as troubled former Steeler tackle Ernie Holmes, freespirited receiver Lynn Swann, the retired flam- his arms folded across his thick chest and his forehead wrinkled in concentration. Heis trying to persuade members of the Fourth Estate that he is not a demigod, not a magician, not even a genius; that he hasneither a formula for nor a patent on success in the National Football League boyant running back Frenchy Fuqua and the also retired but totally businesslike linebacker Andy Russell have blended together to perform with theintelligence andefficiency of a computer. The current team includes a bike racer and businessmen. farmers and financiers: a poet. a potter, amateur photographers and a rancher who occasionally plays around in polities In fact, it became apparent one dayas Noll talked I keepgetting the feeling everyone thinks we have a mold, that we pour guysintoit to see if they fit. It doesn’t work that way,’ Noll says. about whathelooksforin players thatoneof the only characteristics common to all current Steelers, beside the fact that none has ever played for any other NFL team. is an ability to get along with peuple different from themselves They don’t believe him They never do. Surely these reporters think to themselves, there must be some explanation for the wonders this quiet man has worked here in 11 short years, turning the longtime laughingstock of the NFL into what now, as it stands on the threshold of what could be an un- “A lot of scouting combines come in and say guards snould have such-and-such dimensions and linebackers other dimensions,’ Noll said. “We'd probably be substandard in most of the areas. I precedented fourth Super Bowltitle in six years, mustbe called a dynasty. And surely there must be some way to persuade him to provideit And so they keep asking the same questions year after year while theSteelerspile up victory after vic- mean, they'd say tackles are supposed to be at least 6-foct-4. and we've had lot of tackles about6-2. “We don’t have dimensionslike that. We look for somebody who stands out, somebody who has tory and Noll becomesincreasingly frustrated by his inability to persaude them he has no secrets to hide. “Questions I can't answer... not having the answer is the toughestpart," Noll says, when a reporter asks him what questions he most dislikes. Chuck Noll is an enigma — to reporters, to his players, perhaps even to himself. He doesnot fit any of the stereotypes of football coaches that men like Vince Lombardi and Bear Bryant and Tom Landry have engraved upon the minds of Americans. At 47,he still has the bearish build of the football guard, the position he once-played for Paul Brownin Cleveland, but he dresses like and moves with the grace of a middle-aged golfer. Hehas all the physical traits of the sturdy German peasant stock settled around the corners of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania known locally as the Tri-State area: blond hair, blue eyes,fair skin,big indelicate hands. But he has the mind and burning curiosity of an academician, with interests ranging from flying to oneology to classical music. He says the best football coaches are not really coaches but teachers. He refuses opportunities for endorsements and commercials; he once explained he’d rather his players get those contracts since they have fewer years in which to benefit from professional football than One never sees Noll at Pittsburgh’s ‘‘in’’ spots or fancy-dressaffairs, but he rarely misses a Duquesne something special.” Noll mentioned how Steve Courson had caught the scouts’ eyes with a vertical jump of about 34 inches, incredible for a manhis size; Jack Lambert impressed everyone with his aggressiveness and determination. “But,” Noll continued, “‘wealso look for guys who fit in with one another, and that takes timeto find out. That's one reason whyit’s difficult to make decisions on them so quickly. One of the worst things the league did wasshorten the time we haveto look at people before wetrim theroster.. You can't change people — wives sometimes try to change their hus- bands and theyfind out it doesn’t work. You have to be able to accept people for whattheyare ... “We are looking. of course, for athletes — that’s Number 1. We're looking for people with speed, quickness, agility, strength. But we're also looking forfprotle with the ability to learn. think all our footbal Players have a sense of responsibility. They know they have to be at their best because the guy next to him is bustinghis butt tc do his best. “And we're after people who wantto be the best, not necessarily the best paid, but the best at their positions. Some guys just want to work hard enough to becomethe highest paid and then they rest on their laurels, But we want guys who just care about being and remaining the best.”” Noll said he also keeps in mind the fact that football players, like other human beings and like the gameof football, change. “You change every year. subtly,” he says. “You grow with the game. The gameis a growing,living thing, and you grow with it.”” Those players who do not grow with the game and with the Pittsburgh Steelers, or those who grow in different directions than their teammates and coaches — menlike Holmes andthebrilliant but undisciplined Joe Gilliam — are sent away. Other players, erally distinctive but more in tune with the goals and needs of the whole team, take their places. That way, Noll and the Pittsburgh Steelers can keep on growing —and winning. basketball game during his offseason. Hehates to be asked to lookback in time and tries not to think too far ahead. Football excites him notfor the thrills and chills and physical contact that have have made it America's No, 1 pastime but because it is a “living, growing ” and “‘a it learning experi “You can learn so much aboutlife from football.. like how importantbasics are,” hesays. “You learn from so many le, and, if you have good teachers — and I think have — whatyou learn is subtle.” Anecdotes about his nonconformity to coaching’s stereotypes are handed down from onerookie class of Steelers ie another like cherished family heirlooms. Tackle Jon Kolb still remembers the fear and shamehefelt when as a rookie he wastold to report to Noll’s office, although he was nottold to bring his playbook, as all about-to-be cut players are instructed. And Kolbstill laughs at the astonishment hefelt when he discovered all Noll wanted to do was share same photos of birds with a fellow birdwatcher. Another time, according to legend, Noil walked in on three players shooting the breeze in a training campdormitory room, picked up a guitar leaning on a chair, strummed a tune and sang along, then put down the guitar and walked out without speaking one word to any of ther. RED AUERBACH LED BOSTON TO G2 WINS WW '64-@5 FOR RECORD WITK 09 WINS IN ‘YEAR? A LAKERS B WES Cc. BUCKS €1-69‘SBSNVT ZL-1Lb) JOMSUE Whittier Tabs New Grid Coach WHITTIER, Calif (UPI) — Hugh Mendez. iti coach who doubled as football defense coordinator, has been named headfootball coach of the Poets, succeeding John Godfrey who resigned after 20 years. SummerhaysML Mendez, a 1958 graduate of Springfield, Mass., College, been defensive coordinator since 1970. His 1977 defenders led the nation in rushing defense, allowing 34.5 yards per game. 4 4 940 So. 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