The 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 37th in the National Football League. It would mark a turning point of the Steelers franchise. 1969 was the first season for Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll, the first season for defensive lineman "Mean Joe" Greene and L. C. Greenwood, the first season for longtime Steelers public relations director Joe Gordon, and the team's last season in Pitt Stadium before moving into then-state-of-the-art Three Rivers Stadium the following season.

Although considered a turning point in the team's history, the results were not immediate; after winning the season opener against the Detroit Lions, the Steelers lost every game afterwards to finish 1–13. The Steelers became the first team in NFL history since the 1936 Philadelphia Eagles to win its season opener and lose every remaining game. This feat would later be matched by the 2001 Carolina Panthers and the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers finished 1969 4th in the NFL Century Division and tied with the Chicago Bears for last in the NFL. The Steelers finished 1–6 at Pitt Stadium for the fourth time in five seasons, but would be the last time the Steelers finished the season with a losing record at home until 1999.

As a result of their 1–13 records, Art Rooney of the Steelers won a coin toss with George Halas of the Bears to determine who would select Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw (the consensus number 1 selection among league teams) with the number one pick in the 1970 draft. By modern NFL tiebreaking rules, the Steelers would have automatically been given the first pick anyway, as the Bears' one win came against the Steelers in Week 8. Only four players from that 1969 team (defensive linemen Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood and offensive linemen Sam Davis and Jon Kolb) would appear in all 4 of the Steelers Super Bowl wins of the 1970s.

Offseason In the 1969 offseason, the Steelers hired former defensive coordinator Chuck Noll from the Baltimore Colts days after his loss to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III. Noll became the team's 14th head coach in the franchise's history. While it took 36 seasons to go through the first 13, Noll stayed through 1991, establishing coaching stability for the Steelers not seen in other NFL franchises for the next 46. Since Noll's retirement, only Bill Cowher and current head coach Mike Tomlin have served as head coach of the Steelers.

According to Linebacker Andy Russell and other Steelers present, Noll assembled the team for their first meeting and plainly stated his thoughts on why the Steelers had lost so often for so long.

"So Coach Noll's first meeting, I'll never forget the speech he gave," said Russell, who became a highly successful businessman after retiring from football in 1976. "He gets up and says, 'I've been watching the game film since I took the job, and I can tell you guys why you've been losing.' You could have heard a pin drop in that room. He says, 'The reason you have been losing is you're not any good.'" he said, 'I'm going to get rid of most of you.' Five of us made it from that room to the Super Bowl in '74."Andy Russell recalls genius of Chuck Noll, ESPN, June 14, 2014 https://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/7138/andy-russell-recalls-genius-of-chuck-noll

Noll promoted scout Bill Nunn to a full-time position. Only a handful of players were carried over from the 1968 squad to the 1974 Super Bowl Squad, most notably veterans Andy Russell, Rocky Bleier, Ray Mansfield, Sam Davis and Bobby Walden. Additionally, Dick Hoak, who retired before the 1972 season, became the team's running backs coach and remained with the team in that capacity through the 2006 season. Bleier, who played his rookie season the year before and later became a major contributor to the Super Bowl championship teams, was fighting in Vietnam during this time and was wounded in combat just before the start of the season.

1969 NFL draft

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson, Chuck Noll used the 1st Round pick wisely by drafting North Texas State Defensive tackle, Joe Greene. Noll said years later that Greene would've been selected even if they had the top overall pick, passing over Simpson. Although Simpson went on to a Hall of Fame career before legal troubles overshadowed his NFL accomplishments, Steeler scouting set the standard with their excellent NFL scouting in the draft for years to come.

Greene's selection was not without controversy. The front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the next morning had a headline posted Who's Joe Greene?, owing to his relative obscurity despite being named a consensus All-American selection his senior year. The team also drafted Greene's defensive line mate, Arkansas AM&N defensive end L. C. Greenwood, in the tenth round. Greene and Greenwood formed the core of the famed Steel Curtain defensive line and played their entire career as teammates, with both retiring at the end of the 1981 season. The following year, Noll switched the team to a 3–4 defense, partially as a result of the retirement of two of his best defensive players.

Selecting Greene was wise. He was the 1969 Defensive Rookie of the Year at season's end.

Joe Gordon was hired as the team's public relations director. Though his role was more behind-the-scenes, he would remain with the team in that capacity through the 1998 season, second only to Dick Hoak in terms of tenure with the team outside of the Rooney family, third counting Steelers radio commentator Myron Cope, who was not employed by the team but was associated with it through WTAE Radio and later WDVE on the official Steelers radio network.

Among the more notable undrafted free agents on the training camp roster was defensive lineman Ed O'Neill from Youngstown State. Although he didn't make the team, O'Neill would go on to fame as an actor, most notably as Al Bundy on the TV series Married... with Children, which locally aired on WPGH-TV."It's Evening in America". Vanity Fair. May 2012. Page 156.

Undrafted free agents

+ 1969 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJohn NiceRunning backDelaware Valley

Personnel Staff / Coaches

Roster

Regular season

Summary The 1969 season started off well for the Steelers. After defeating the Detroit Lions 16–13, much of the roster believed they were on a Super Bowl run. However, after losing three straight times, first at Philadelphia 41–27, then at home against the Cardinals 27–14, and at New York against the Giants 10–7, team morale plummeted. The Steelers then lost the next 10 games and became the first team in league history since the 1936 Philadelphia Eagles to win their season opener but then lose every other game until the 2001 Carolina Panthers. Though after these losses, Art Rooney Sr. still had faith in Chuck Noll, and retained him for 1970. With the 1–13 record, the Steelers won a coin toss against the Chicago Bears (also 1–13). For the first time since 1956, the Steelers got the first pick in the NFL draft and selected Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 September 21 Detroit Lions W 16–13 1–0 Pitt Stadium 2 September 28 at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–41 1–1 Franklin Field 3 October 5 St. Louis Cardinals L 14–27 1–2 Pitt Stadium 4 October 12 at New York Giants L 7–10 1–3 Yankee Stadium 5 at Cleveland Browns L 31–42 1–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 6 October 26 Washington Redskins L 7–14 1–5 Pitt Stadium 7 November 2 Green Bay Packers L 34–38 1–6 Pitt Stadium 8 November 9 at Chicago Bears L 7–38 1–7 Wrigley Field 9 November 16 Cleveland Browns L 3–24 1–8 Pitt Stadium 10 November 23 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–52 1–9 Metropolitan Stadium 11 November 30 at St. Louis Cardinals L 10–47 1–10 Busch Stadium 12 December 7 Dallas Cowboys L 7–10 1–11 Pitt Stadium 13 December 14 New York Giants L 17–21 1–12 Pitt Stadium 14 December 21 at New Orleans Saints L 24–27 1–13 Tulane Stadium Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 21, 1969): Detroit Lions

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: 1:00 PM EST Game weather: 80 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny at kickoff Game attendance: 51,360 Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers:

Scoring Drives: Detroit – FG Mann 23 yds, 0–3 Pittsburgh – FG Mingo 27 yds, 3–3 Pittsburgh – FG Mingo 18 yds, 6–3 Pittsburgh – FG Mingo 40 yds, 9–3 Detroit – FG Mann 23 yds, 9–6 Detroit – McCullouch 12 yd pass from Munson (Mann kick), 9–13 Pittsburgh – Bankston 6 yd run (Mingo kick), 16–13

Steelers running back Warren Bankston fumbled twice but turned out to be the game's hero by scoring a 6-yard touchdown with just 3 minutes to play. On the touchdown, he broke attempted tackles by Wayne Walker and Mike Weger. Detroit's last drive was snuffed out by the Steelers on a fourth and one play that failed at the Lions' 36 yard line. Bankston ran for 52 yards in the game.Chicago Tribune, September 22, 1969

Week 2 (Sunday September 28, 1969): Philadelphia Eagles

at Franklin Field, Philadelphia Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 60,658 Referee: Bernie Ulman TV announcers:

Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – FG Mingo 36 yds, 3–0 Pittsburgh – Gros 8 yd pass from Shiner (Mingo kick), 10–0 Pittsburgh – FG Mingo 15 yds, 13–0 Philadelphia – Hawkins 28 yd pass from Snead (Baker kick), 13–7 Philadelphia – FG Baker 35 yds, 10–13 Philadelphia – Hawkins 28 yd pass from Snead (Baker kick), 13–17 Philadelphia – Hawkins 47 yd pass from Snead (Baker kick), 13–24 Philadelphia – Hawkins 15 yd pass from Snead (Baker kick), 13–31 Pittsburgh – Hoak 3 yd run (Mingo kick), 20–31 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 14 yd pass from Shiner (Mingo kick), 27–31 Philadelphia – FG Baker 41 yds, 27–34 Philadelphia – Jackson 56 yd pass from Snead (Baker kick), 27–41

The Steelers fell apart after the first quarter. Roy Jefferson caught 7 passes for 123 and scored a touchdown.

Week 3 (Sunday October 5, 1969): St. Louis Cardinals

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,011 Referee: George Rennix TV announcers:

Scoring Drives: Pittsburgh – Jefferson 2 yd pass from Shiner (Mingo kick), 7–0 St. Louis – FG Bakken 42 yds, 7–3 St. Louis – Crenshaw 26 yd run (Bakken kick), 7–10 St. Louis – FG Bakken 35 yds, 7–13 St. Louis – Crenshaw 4 yd run (Bakken kick), 7–20 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 48 yd pass from Nix (Mingo kick), 14–20 St. Louis – Gilliam 58 yd pass from Hart (Bakken kick), 14–27

The Steelers committed 5 turnovers. Jefferson caught 9 passes for 115 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.Chicago Tribune, October 6, 1969

Week 4 at Giants

Week 5 (Saturday October 18, 1969): Cleveland Browns

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 84,078 Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers:

Scoring Drives: Cleveland – Collins 4 yd pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)0–7 Pittsburgh – Hoak 4 yd run (Mingo kick)7–7 Cleveland – Kelly 1 yd run (Cockroft kick)7–14 Pittsburgh – FG Mingo 38 yds 10–14 Cleveland - Barnes 55 yd interception return (Cockroft kick)10–21 Cleveland – Sumner 40 yd interception return (Cockroft kick)10–28 Cleveland - Collins 48 yd pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)10–35 Pittsburgh – Gros 15 yd pass from Hanratty (Mingo kick)17–35 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 10 yd pass from Nix (Mingo kick)24–35 Cleveland – Morrison 1 yd run (Cockroft kick)24–42 Pittsburgh – Jefferson 15 yd pass from Hanratty (Mingo kick)31–42