NFL Pittsburgh Steelers

Dick LeBeau’s Resignation Comes At Right Time For Pittsburgh Steelers

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To Steeler Nation, he was the innovator; the godfather of modern defense – the maestro behind some of the most feared Pittsburgh Steelers defensive units this side of the Steel Curtain. Dick LeBeau boasts the type of resume that could warrant him being the only man in NFL history to enter the Hall of Fame solely as a coordinator. He has defined what it means to wear the black and gold better than any player of the modern era.

Now, with the Steelers’ offseason barely a week old, the man affectionately known as “Coach Dad” has mutually agreed to part ways with the organization he helped propel to unprecedented levels of greatness. And the separation hasn’t come a season too soon.

Many will argue it was the lack of talent that made LeBeau’s defensive system obsolete. Others will claim it was the scheme’s boggling complexity and inability to be grasped by rookies and free agents that led to Pittsburgh’s dismal defense in 2014. The answer, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle. The lack of “splash play” personnel was certainly an issue, but frankly, the unit’s execution had become too predictable, and if there’s one thing in the NFL that teams love to do, it’s learn from each other.

The writing was on the wall several years ago during a string of hopeless defeats against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. If the rest of the league is the general public, the New England Patriots are the military, perfecting top secret plans half a decade before everyone else even knows what they’re up to.

By last season, almost every team in the NFL found ways to expose the Steelers’ aging pass rush and corners playing eight yards off the line of scrimmage. A zone blitz defense invented by LeBeau to combat the increasingly popular West Coast offense had come full circle; it was now the defense that had become stale, and opposing quarterbacks who read between the lines were free to carve up the secondary all afternoon.

Even at 77, LeBeau made it very clear that his departure was a resignation, not a retirement. There isn’t a single self-respecting Steelers fan in the world who doesn’t believe he can turn any other unit into a top-tier defense, but now is undoubtedly the time for change.

With many a head coach and coordinator still floating jobless around the league, the Steelers remain heavily favored to promote from within. Linebackers coach Keith Butler has held the hot ticket for many years, slowly simmering away in a secure role as LeBeau rode out the twilight of his coaching career. The Steelers even restricted Butler from interviewing for a myriad other positions, always with the assurance that one of the most sought after jobs in football would one day be his.

Butler’s extreme patience may have finally been rewarded, but with a great job title comes great expectations. The Pittsburgh faithful will be expecting a return to dominance right away. With an entire offseason to flesh out his plans for the perfect defense, and a defense-heavy draft to boot – seriously, do the Steelers need any fresh blood on offense?

Butler only needs to make his unit half as competent as the other side of the ball, and a seventh Super Bowl could well be on the cards in 2016.

Jonathon Natsis covers the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JohnHollywood92, ‘like’ him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.

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