(Photo by Fred Roe/Getty Images)
It's no secret that Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll had a rocky relationship. Bradshaw wanted to be constantly praised and reassured, and Noll was just not that type of coach or person. Noll didn't feel like it was his responsibility to constantly comfort Bradshaw whenever he was down. Noll was old-school and was just always focused on the task at hand, and really wasn't looking for a personal relationship with any of his players.
Bradshaw has brought it up in the past plenty of times before, but he addressed his relationship with Noll in 93.7 The Fan again today.
“The first 10-15 years after (Bradshaw’s playing days) I was pissed, I’m not going to lie to you,” Bradshaw said. “He is no longer with us on this earth and there are so many wonderful things that Chuck did for me. But he did not know how to handle me."
Bradshaw also brought up his awkward relationship with Noll that would bring him anxiety.
“I don’t think he was socially comfortable with people, especially strangers," Bradshaw said. "Whenever he would walk into the coffee room and I was sitting there with coffee I would, and this is not true but, I would break out into a sweat and say, ‘I’ve got to get the hell out of here.’ It was just uncomfortable.
"The way he talked to me, just God nobody talks to their starting quarterback like that. Nobody knows about it, nobody will ever know about it. But I had a hard time with that and I was angry with him.”
However, Bradshaw made it a point to mention that Noll did a lot of good for him in his career, as well.
“And some of the conversations we had. ‘We’re not going to win this game unless you do what you do best and throw the ball deep.’ ‘You’re in charge of this, if you’re having a hard time with it let me know,'" Bradshaw said of Noll's encouragement.
Bradshaw also learned how to persevere and face adversity under Noll. Bradshaw would win four Super Bowls with the Steelers with Noll as his head coach and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
"I learned from Chuck toughness," Bradshaw said. "I had to create in me this nasty guy to survive. I didn’t like that person and it still carries over today. It’s just not me. But I did and I survived and went on. So while I had a hard time with him, that’s OK. He was a great coach, man.”
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