Calinger: It was time for Steelers defensive coordinator LeBeau to go
By J.W. CALINGER
ISL Correspondent
Note: The writer, based in Omaha, Neb., is a lifelong Steelers fan.
Late last year, I nearly found myself burned at the stake for heresy after suggesting that it was time for Dick LeBeau to retire as defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Loyalties are strong in the Steel City, and LeBeau has earned his, having been a Pittsburgh icon, off and on, since the mid-90s, and having coached our defense in two Super Bowl victories, XL and XLIII, and in losses in two more Big Games, XXX and XLV. Steelers fans also are used to a great deal of longevity; we’ve had only three head coaches in the last 45 years, and only four centers since 1976 – we don’t let go of people easily.
Football fans have a grudging acknowledgement for the status of Father Time as an opponent a player can’t block. Every Hall of Famer has gone through that uncomfortable period when he has started to decline, and when that player either tries to squeeze another year or two with another team, or retires after a year of trying, bless his heart, but simply not being what he used to be. If a player is lucky, he’ll win a Super Bowl and, realizing he’s unlikely to see another one happen, retire at that point – among Steelers players, only Jerome Bettis actually managed to do that.
Coaching, being mostly an intellectual occupation, is something a person can do for a good deal longer. LeBeau retired in 1976, but was able to coach constantly since then. Again, he had two Super Bowl rings, and he’s almost a lock to make the Hall of Fame twice – he already has made it to Canton as a player. At the age of 77, he doesn’t look a day over 60, and he has remained mentally sharp and, until the last couple of years, was able to coach defense on an extremely high level.
But, football is a fickle business, and for understandable reasons. Janet Jackson once asked, “What have you done for me lately?” and that is the question every owner asks every player and every coach, every year. Those who have produced might earn themselves second or third chances when they start to slump, or even one more year, but at the end of the day or, as it were, of the season, even those who once were the best and the brightest might have to go.
Every player or coach has weaknesses, and LeBeau’s was the inability to handle a sudden replacement of seasoned veterans with rookies. He wouldn’t simplify his schemes in order to allow rookies to learn the game as they went, nor would he change his MO of giving huge cushions to opposing wide receivers. As a result, the Steeler defense found itself helpless against the power run and timing and crossing routes; while other teams might have been able to defend sideline fades and quick slants, those plays constantly burned Pittsburgh defensive backs.
In Week 1, Cleveland came back from a 28-point deficit by using power running and the intermediate middle, and in the wild-card round, Baltimore knocked us out of the Super Bowl hunt with the exact same tactics – thus, in four months, we really didn’t learn much about how to defend that sort of strategy. Cornerback Ike Taylor found himself burned, as did fellow corner Cortez Allen, while safety Troy Polamalu spent too much time lining up as a fifth linebacker, leaving the middle of the field open.
The Steelers started to find success on defense only when some of LeBeau’s old stalwarts, defensive end Brett Keisel and outside linebacker James Harrison, agreed to return to the team for one more season – and when Taylor, Allen, and Polamalu sat out most of the second half of the season due to injuries. Even then, however, our stats on defense were embarrassing by Pittsburgh standards. The mighty Steel Curtain, according to NFL.com, gave up 23 points per game, 18th in the NFL, and gave up a whopping 253.1 pass yards per game, which was 27th. Only with a supercharged offense, courtesy of running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant did we go 11-5 and win the division title.
At this point, the Steelers didn’t have much of a choice but to address the coaching side of things. At this point, no solution was going to be fuzzy and happy for everyone; LeBeau apparently thinks he has a few good years in him, and the Steelers think we need a new coordinator in Pittsburgh. And so, LeBeau and the Pittsburgh Steelers mutually parted ways, which I think meant that Pittsburgh gave him one last gesture of loyalty by letting him clean out his own desk.
And now, the search for a new era begins. Most Steelers fans expect linebackers coach Keith Butler to inherit the job, as the story goes that Butler has stuck around Pittsburgh with the expectation of being the heir apparent. I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. It’s time to explore the possibility of some new defensive schemes, including tighter corner play, more conventional safety play, and even a possible switch to a 4-3, which probably will help our run defense and will allow our young athletes to acclimate a little more quickly. As for LeBeau, there’s some speculation that another former Steelers coordinator, Arizona head coach Bruce Arians, will welcome his former counterpart to the Cardinals, where LeBeau can enjoy the weather and a couple more good years.
My fellow Steelers fans and I, meanwhile, are looking forward to the day when we no longer have to be sad about LeBeau having to leave, nor frustrated about his decline, but when nostalgia will take over, and we simply can remember him as one of the greatest Steelers of all time.
