LeBeau makes the defense go
PITTSBURGH — At 73 years old, Dick LeBeau still has that “swagger.” He still designs and makes the calls for one of the league’s best and most aggressive defenses. He still finds new ways to be innovative.
But the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator also has remained humble enough to know staffers at the team’s practice facility by name. He does push-ups with his players, and has even been known to shed a tear when those same players who admire him so much go out of their way to pay him tribute.
In the nine seasons LeBeau has served as the Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator, the team has never finished ranked lower than No. 9 defensively in the NFL, and its average ranking is No. 3.
This season, no team allowed fewer points and only one permitted less yardage than the Steelers (13-4), who host the New York Jets (13-5) Sunday in the AFC championship game.
It’s those types of results that earn players’ attention. But when it comes to LeBeau and the Steelers, the members of what has been arguably the league’s most consistently dominant defense over the past decade take their respect for him almost to a level of reverence.
“He’s like a father figure to everybody,” cornerback Ike Taylor said. “You won’t find another guy who is coach LeBeau. A guy of his stature, knows defense in and out, pretty much made up the ‘fire-zone blitz’ packages. He’s very laid-back, real cool, real collected. Usually, you see those guys and they have egos. There’s not one cell in his body that has a bad ego. Very humble.
“You can go on and on about coach LeBeau.”
Can’t you tell?
“He’s the best defensive coach,” linebacker James Farrior said, “I’ve ever been around.”
That’s saying something. Farrior’s been around for 14 seasons.
“He just makes you want to work for him,” defensive end Ziggy Hood said. “We love and respect what he does and everything that he gives to us.”
Right now, he’s put this unit on the verge of another Super Bowl. And something tells us, LeBeau knows how to keep it focused this week.
“Of course he’s a great defensive coordinator, a great coach,” defensive tackle Chris Hoke said. “He gets the best out of all of us. But also on a personal level, everybody respects and everybody loves the guy. On and off the field, I think everybody appreciates him.”
The players have shown it publicly in a myriad of ways over the years.
There’s the time the entire defense sprung for authentic replica Detroit Lions No. 44 jerseys, a tribute to his playing days as one of the best defensive backs of his generation. The way they openly campaigned for years for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — and the way they all showed up at his induction ceremony when he finally made it in 2010.
“I’ve said consistently they’re the best PR department I’ve gotten,” LeBeau said. “They got me in there. It was great.”
Despite having a background in a completely different style of defense, Mike Tomlin kept LeBeau when he was hired to replace Bill Cowher as head coach in 2007.
Tomlin said LeBeau “inspires” him.
“He’s a special man,” Tomlin said, “arguably the best in the world at what he does.”
Tough to argue with that.
“There’s nothing that this game can present to him that he hasn’t seen in this league,” Tomlin said. “And I think the guys have a level of respect for it. But at the same time, he has a unique and very authentic way of relating those stories and lessons to the men.”
