The Hidden Reason Dan Rooney Rejected Steelers' Joe Greene's Powerful Plea To Replace Chuck Noll As Head Coach

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ storied history does not go back to just wins and losses on the field. It does not even stop at the fact that Pittsburgh boasts six Super Bowl trophies throughout their franchise history. The Steelers have always done things differently from the vast majority of professional sports organizations. They are a family-run business first, and the fact that they became one of the greatest dynasties in sports history during the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls, only further elevated their legacy.

During the 1970s, the Steelers had a defensive lineman named "Mean" Joe Greene. He was arguably not just the greatest Steelers player of all time, but one of the most dominant players the NFL has ever seen. He earned his famous nickname during his college career at North Texas State University. The school’s defense was known as the "Mean Green" because of how talented and aggressive it was. 

As his career went on, sports pundits began referring to him as "Mean" Joe Greene because of his intimidating style of play, and he brought that reputation with him into the NFL. There, he became the leader of the famous "Steel Curtain" defense and helped guide the Steelers to four Super Bowl championships.

Former Steelers running back Merrill Hoge was speaking with Trey Wingo when he revealed a little-known story about Greene actually wanting to become the Steelers’ head coach after Chuck Noll retired following the 1991 NFL season.

"When Chuck Noll left, Joe Greene was our defensive line coach at the time, and Joe Greene had become a mentor of mine," Hoge said Friday. "I love Joe Greene. I think he is iconically one of the best, not just Steelers, but football players in NFL history. I was a captain at the time, and he asked me if I would go talk to Mr. Rooney about him being our next head coach. I’m a 25-year-old player, my scope’s zeroed in, and I’m like, 'Chuck Noll to Joe Greene, couldn’t be better.'"

Of course, as every Steelers fan knows today, Greene did not end up coaching the Steelers. 

Instead, Bill Cowher was hired as the head coach of the Steelers on January 21, 1992.

"I was like, 'Ooh, that’s never happened before,'" Hoge said. "And then he comes back, he sits down, and he just said, 'Listen, we’re not gonna do that to Joe.' And he explained all the reasons, and honestly, all of them made sense. The expectation and the standard that would have been on Joe would just be overwhelming, daunting, and he wasn’t gonna do that."

While Greene never became an NFL head coach, he did have significant coaching experience after his playing career ended. He served as the Steelers’ defensive line coach from 1987 to 1991 before joining the Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff from 1991 to 1995 in the same role. He later finished his coaching career with the Arizona Cardinals from 1996 to 2003 as an assistant coach.

Steelers Fans Are Left With 1 Huge Unanswered Question

Still, Steeler Nation will always wonder what could have happened if Dan Rooney had decided to hand the franchise over to Greene instead of hiring Cowher. Would Greene have continued the Steelers’ winning tradition? Would he have brought the same toughness and leadership that defined his playing career to the sideline? Those questions will remain one of the great "what ifs" in franchise history.

Although Greene never became the Steelers’ head coach, his impact on the organization can never be questioned. He was one of the architects of the Steelers’ dynasty as a player, and his legacy remains permanently tied to the black and gold.

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