Dick Hoak, Steelers running back and coach for 45 years, dies at 86

Dick Hoak, who spent 45 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, first as a running back and then as the coach of their running backs, has died at 86. The team announced his death Wednesday, Yahoo Sports reported.

Few careers have been tied so closely to one franchise. Hoak grew up in Jeannette, just outside Pittsburgh, and played at Penn State. The Steelers took him in the seventh round of the 1961 draft. He played 10 seasons, through 1970, and retired with 3,965 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns. At the time, only one player in franchise history had run for more yards. Steelers Now noted that his best season came in 1968, when he ran for 858 yards and added 253 receiving yards.

Chuck Noll brought him back as running backs coach two years after he retired. Hoak held that job for 35 seasons and stepped away after the 2006 season. According to the team history cited by Daily Voice, he was the only assistant to work under both Noll and Bill Cowher. During that stretch he coached Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker. He was on the staff for all five of Pittsburgh's Super Bowl titles in that span, the four of the 1970s and the one after the 2005 season. Steelers Now reported that he is one of only six people in the organization to win rings with the team in both the 1970s and the 2000s.

The honors came late in his life. WTAE noted that Hoak was part of the inaugural Steelers Hall of Honor class in 2017. In 2025 the Pro Football Hall of Fame gave him its Award of Excellence, which recognizes longtime assistant coaches and others who worked behind the scenes. Team president Art Rooney II called Hoak "part of the foundation of this organization" in a statement. CBS Pittsburgh reported that the Jeannette City School District also paid tribute to him.

Hoak's career covered a large part of the franchise's history. He arrived when the Steelers had never won a title, and he left the year after their fifth.

What it means for Sunday in Cincinnati

The current team is playing well as it mourns him. Pittsburgh is 6-2 and has won four straight, the latest a 27-6 win over Cleveland. Before that, the Steelers beat New Orleans 16-10, won 26-19 at Tampa Bay and beat Indianapolis 34-22. Both losses came on the road, 20-3 at New England and 27-24 at Cleveland.

Next is a Sunday-night trip to Cincinnati on NBC. The Steelers already beat the Bengals once this season, 30-27 at home. Even so, the market makes Cincinnati the favorite at home. On Novig, one of 10 venues on this site's board for the game, the Bengals are favored at -174 on the moneyline and the Steelers are +167. The spread is Cincinnati -3.5. Novig prices Pittsburgh +3.5 at -111, and the best price anywhere is BetRivers at -109, so the venues are close on that side. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.8% to 5.3% on the moneyline and from 4.3% to 5.0% on the spread. The total sits at 49.5, with Novig at +102 on the over and -108 on the under.

The week after, Pittsburgh visits Philadelphia, and the Steelers are favored there at -212 on Novig. More on the season is on our Steelers team page.