I miss Keith Butler

His coverage schemes sucked but the Steelers were always like top 5 in sacks. With Austin the coverage isn't good, and the sack numbers are lower.

 

Kwith Butler. Somebody posted a thread with that typo one time back when he was DC. Hilarious times.

 

As the OP stated, Keith wasn't very good but dear god the sack totals were there. The next DC Search should prioritize that given Pittsburgh's rich history of having great front sevens. A lot of DCs to choose from in the NFL; doubly so in case of some positional coaches.


Names?!


Matt Eberflus: Coaching retread?! Yes. Defensive genius though during his time at Indy?! Absolutely. His defenses consistently ranked in the Top 11 from 2018 to 2021. For two straight years in 2020 to 2021, the Colts were Top 10 in Run Defense (hint hint), Scoring Defense and takeaways. In addition, this was during a time in which Indy's defensive talent was, at best, serviceable.


Jim Leonhard (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach): Anyone wanna upgrade the CB and Secondary without havin' to spend too much draft capital?! This is your guy. Jim has had tremendous success getting Wisconsin Badger stars into the NFL from 2017 to 2022 as a Defensive Coordinator. Mind you, Nick Herbig and Keeanu Benton also have some familiarity with him; Pittsburgh's 3-4 also being a major aspect of it as well. In addition, he is also heavily credited for maximizing Pat Surtain II's abilities to transform him into a DPOY Candidate. Joey Porter may never be a DPOY Candidate but he does have a Pro Bowl Ceiling at worst. Not just Peezy Jr either. Whomever else the Steelers may bring in will no doubt receive a boost from his coaching prowess.


Robert Saleh: Another Coaching retread I know but this one would be nasty. Even if he was fired from his post at New York, not everything that went wrong in New York was all due to Saleh. For that matter, before his firing, Saleh's Jets were the fifth best overall in the league. From his days at San Fran during 2017 to 2020, those results speak for themselves as San Frans Defense were either the best or among the best in all of the NFL.


Aubrey Pleasant (Los Angeles Pass Game Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach): Losing an all time generational talent in Aaron Donald is one thing. Attempting to make a defense even serviceable after losing so many other key pieces in addition to him is another. However, given how the Rams Defense has played this season, you wouldn't have to look too far to know the architect of it all. Now, Pleasant actually has been in the league for a while; an intern for the Browns. McVay hired him to be the Cornerbacks Coach under legendary DC Wade Phillips. After his time as an Offensive Consultant for the Green Bay Packers, Aubrey returned to McVay in 2023; Aaron Donald's final season. Year one wasn't kind to him though due to the talent drain but 2024 has been much better. Wade Phillips isn't the only great DC Aubrey has worked with; Brandon Staley and Raheem Morris being the other two.



More I am sure but these four stick out.

 

But but but I thought Tomlin was the DC

 

At least after the playoff loss Watt was more open to moving around, you can't have your best player be a nonfactor at the end of the season like Watt was.

 

I do not miss Keith Butler

 

Compared to Austin's conservative approach to the pass rush I miss Butler.

 

Best post I have read on here in a long time.

 

Was Lebeau's LB coach and was the heir apparent to the DC job, once Lebeau retired.Risk reward with his defenses.Problem was, his secondaries were regularly torched, if his blitses didn't hit home because of their poor communication (familiar). But once they got Minkah, his defense, especially in 19, (Big Ben elbow blowing out), was his best defense imo, really effective. Don't know what happened to Minkah the last couple of seasons

 

Thanks man!! Very much appreciated!


Means a lot!

 

A no brainer for sure but who's to say that other NFL Clubs will hold his tenure in New York against him?! I honestly wouldn't but others don't feel the same way. Teams want an Offensive Mind but just because you hire one doesn't mean it is going to always be successful.


For reference, see Shane Steichen of the Colts or even Mike McDaniels of the Dolphins. Excellent OCs but only good enough Head Coaches.

 

you are delusional, man.

he was a Tomlin Puppet, too. He oversaw the COLLAPSE vs. JAX in 2017. ALL should have been fired THAT NIGHT

FLUSH the STUPID STATS - watch the games

TOMLIN has infected IT ALL

since LeBeau has left, we have been avg on D, b/c Tomlin is avg - at EVERYTHING

 

LeBeau used to get owned by Brady and the Patriots too, remind me again who was the DC that lost to Tebow in the playoffs?

 

I could see Saleh returning to the 49ers to be their DC.

 

The question is why do we keep hiring these mediocre to poor coordinators? Instead talking about the possibility of losing them to another team through promotion, we continuously talk about getting rid of them.

 

I'm old enough to almost miss Bill Austin and Johnny Michelosen.

 

I don't miss Keith Butler. I don't miss Dick LeBeau. I miss Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor, James Farrior, and Brett Keisel all playing together around their prime. We were very fortunate to get to watch that come together. 2008 Steelers- never forget!

 

Someone on here used to post that picture of the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz and its striking similarity to Butler. Hit hard!

 

He resigned. Was being forced out.

 

The question is if they were to move on from Austin the Puppet will this new defensive coordinator have autonomy?

Need Bags Tomlin to do a rewind to his first 5 years. Just be the front man and let the coordinators do their job. With autonomy.

Just be the blowhard you are. Your good at that Bags.

Anyone who thinks that this isn't Bags Tomlin's defense and he has total control over it is quite short sighted. But he needs a flunky to implement the game plan during practice.

I believe Austin the Puppet is going nowhere. He has 2 years left on his contract. You should all know why they will keep him by now.

Their is one expiring contract I believe in February, Pat Meyer. Don't let the door hit you.,.