All those old players were men. Unlike the criminals who play the game now.
Whats sad is that Chuck Noll pretty much vanished from the scene.
Just speculation on my part, but...I think Noll left when he did because the game was changing. Instead of men, he was getting has beens, never wases, and primadonnas. The younger generation didn’t want to play because they enjoyed playing. They just wanted to make big bucks. And once they started making big money, they would slack off. They didn’t respond to Noll’s style of coaching. He also couldn’t count on support from the owner anymore. The owners invested big money in these layabouts. They weren’t about to cut them loose, at least not right away. So as coach, Noll would be saddled with a bunch of losers. Eventually, blame for sorry won-lost records would be placed on Noll, not the lousy players. If I were him, I would have left too. He left before his reputation was sullied.
A lot of false glory with those old Steelers’ teams as well:
http://www.amazon.com/False-Glory-Steelers-Steroids-Courson/dp/0681411872