Butler says relationship with LeBeau strained

I bet Tomlin is glad LeBeau is gone, the media has been reporting that Tomlin is getting more involved with the defense. He has been working with the secondary during training camp, and he will probably have more input now.

 

Because Tomlin was intimidated by DL...........

 

I don't know if intimidation would be the right word per say. Respectful of the older coach's resume may be a better description of the situation imo. How do you tell guys of that caliber you want to change things? Tomlin still won a SB with DL as the def. coord.

 

I was very sad to see Dick go- and I was even more sad that it was time to let him go. And I accepted that it was because of Butler wanting the job & that Dick wasn't getting that job done.
Now though- I don't think it was about Butler at all. On the radio, they were talking about how Tomlin had NOTHING to do with the defense when Dick was there. (They said it would've been like Luke telling Yoda what to do. I love Tunch & Wolf.) Now though, Tomlin has been coaching the defense along with Butler. Getting rid of Dick may have had a little to do with Butler- but I think it was mostly Tomlin wanting to have some control of the D & Butler is fine with that.

 

It was out of deference and respect to LeBeau a Hall Of Fame DC.

 

Guys, remember the Rooney's were paying Butler more to NOT take another DC job. LeBeau knew it was coming. Just like Troy and Ike knew it was time too. Even if they had to be pushed a little.

 

Maybe he figured that LeBeau is one of the best DCs in history, and had ridiculous success doing things his way, and Tomlin's one year of DC on a Vikings team that boasted the worst pass defense in the league wasn't quite as impressive. Jesus, we whine when one element of our defense drops out of the top 5. Tomlin's vikings were last in pass defense!

If you don't have respect for LeBeau as the Steelers' defensive coordinator, you're not much of a coach.

I don't know if y'all remember, but when Tomlin was hired, there was rampant talk of us switching to a 4-3 so we could do things Tomlin's way. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The best coaching decision Mike Tomlin ever made was keeping Dick LeBeau, and letting Dick LeBeau do whatever he wanted, in whatever formation he wanted. It won us a Super Bowl and should have won us another. It remained successful until the quality of the players deteriorated - something you can't blame LeBeau for. But that's another topic.

 

sock it to me
sock it to me
sock it to me
sock it to me
re re re re re
respect
just a little bit


but shiploads of sensationalism

 

yea they could run a balanced attack against our defense. we were equally bad against the run or pass.

 

But I think the Steelers had done a lot to retain Butler and Butler wanted the opportunity to stay in PGH. You are correct, LeBeau had no obligation to retire, but I think many thought he would not hang on as long as he did. My guess is if DL would have stayed on again as the DC that Butler would have left and the Steelers didn't want that...also I really think the Steelers felt it was time anyway. There was nothing wrong with DL wanting to hang on if he still felt up to the job and there was also nothing wrong with the Steelers thinking his time has passed.

 

Well, they all answer to the Rooney's. So if Mr Rooney told Tomlin you're hired but to let Lebeau run the defense than he would have no other choice.

 

By the same token, why would you need to run on the team with the worst pass defense in the league? They had a great run D, but one out of two doesn't cut it. If you stink in one dimension, teams will pick on you there, and that hurts you, even if it does help that other dimension's stats. It's not the case that one dimension will stink as a result of the other dimension being good. On the contrary - Minnesota should have had a better pass defense, because they were shutting down the run and keeping offenses one-dimensional. But it didn't hold up.

LeBeau, on the other hand, consistently had a top run D and top pass D. Sometimes #1 on both.

I'm not trying to knock Tomlin. The year after he left, Minnesota had the worst pass defense again, this time with an additional 400 yards! Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, head coach Tomlin and defensive coordinator LeBeau finished #3 against the run and pass.

He was only DC for one year, and that's not enough to properly grade him on anyway. It wouldn't have been fair to grade Haley after his first year. Point is, for all those reasons, it is flat out stupid to think Tomlin should have done anything but yield to LeBeau, and even Tomlin knew that. I can't believe there are or ever were people that thought otherwise.

 

It's unfortunate for lebeau but it's not like they put him out to pasture.. He has a job with the Titans and in a way I feel like he is lucky someone actually still retained his services. Butler has nothing to feel bad about. its a business and given our dismal record last year on defense a change was in order.