Lebeau calling it quits!

I actually think with the type of LBs and lineman we have we are closer to having a good 4-3 than a good 3-4. What did our defense finish at this year?

 

About friggin time he left, thank you for all of the great years but it was time to part ways. I don't think he was forced out, the guy is a stubborn old man, ( example Tebow game, and the 40 yard cushions that killed us everytime with the 3rd and long) I bet the FO tried doing it the nice way, but with DL being stubborn they did it the other way.. now to watch the cowgirls get crushed will be the icing on the cake for this wonderful day.!!

 

Agree. He was forced out and that's unfortunate. But no individual, not even the great Dick LeBeau, is bigger than the Pittsburgh Steeler franchise. It's sad that DL forced the Rooney's hand, but it was the right thing to do.

 

Yeah, it's pretty black and white. Either Lebeau wanted to leave Pittsburgh or he didn't. There's no middle ground there. He was forced out, likely for many different reasons.

 

According to NFL.com Lebeau's resignation caught the Steelers by surprise.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...beaus-resignation-caught-steelers-by-surprise

 

Lebeau's own statement seems to imply he was forced out

 

Didn't Rappaport already lose credibility this year? This is ridiculous. No way it caught the Steelers by surprise. They asked for his resignation and he supplied it.

 

Perhaps they were going to do what Dallas did with Monte Kiffin. "Ok, you can stay on but you're not the DC. You're an assistant head coach" kinda thing.

 

what I meant to say is he wasn't forced out at first, the FO probably tried to do it the nice way, with DL being stubborn he wanted to stay on, and continue with the same boring repetitive defense, that isn't fooling anybody anymore,, so yeah then they forced him out. I bet he's already on a plane heading to Arizona.

 

What exactly is the nice way? Either he was asked to quit or he wasn't, either way, that's being forced out

 

"Here's what we do; tell him we are moving in a different direction, gotta keep Butler, but he will be our advisor/ consultant on defense"

Here's what Lebeau said "No thanks, I think if I was in the new defense coordinators position, I wouldn't want the spectre of the last D coord looking over my shoulder"

This is all speculation, but its what I want to believe. A classy guy doing the classy thing for a classy organization. Plus the golfing he can do in Arizona...

 

Lebeau was forced out... Steelers FO probably fed Rappaport that story so they don't look like total Jerks for firing a legend.

 

The nice way would be to say, "we had enough of your boring cross blitzes s__T! they aren't fooling anybody, the other teams have guys waiting in the middle to block it off , and we feel now is the time for a change before we look like crap again!."

The mean way would be to say " get the hell out of here, we're still hearing about how we got tebowed!! "

 

Is this really the future of NFL defenses, more of a hybrid than a standard 4-3 3-4??

http://sidelinesapp.com/item/does-p...defense-represent-the-future-of-nfl-defenses/

 

The 'nice' way is to say "Dick, we're going in a different direction. If you retire we'll do a big presser, the Rooneys, Tomlin, and everyone will be there, we'll bring in Keisel, Porter, Polamalu to come in to shed some tears. We'll all sing your praises, and we'll create a BS consulting position that requires nothing from you other than cashing a check". I think that's what the Steelers would have preferred. But it's clear Dick didn't want to play along. He probably still thinks he can coach, or is afraid he'll die if he sits around doing nothing. Who knows? I wouldn't think there'd be too many teams that want to start over with a 77 yr old DC. But maybe he can still get a job doing something somewhere. I wish him luck, though I would think the market for him is limited.

 

Exactly ^ what afan said ^ they did him a favour for keeping him around for this long, him, Ike, troy should've been gone 2 years ago this team has become too loyal when it comes to the D

 

Thanks for the memories LeBeau, but it was time to move on. I have no problem with what the Steelers did, LeBeau's defense wasn't effective anymore. Just because he's a Hall Of Famer doesn't mean he gets a lifetime contract. They should've made this move 2-3 years ago, Butler deserves his chance to be DC if he was promised the job by the Rooney's.

 

I don't think they kept him around just to do him a favor. IMO, we're lucky to have had DL provide stability and winning defenses for a large part of our lives. I mean after-all, he's been our coach for over a decade.

I would not only keep DL, his wish list would've been priority one for me going forward.

 

Look, I understand the respect people have for LeBeau, but the guy is pushing 80 YEARS OLD! It's a proven fact that the older a person gets the more the creative portion of their brain deteriorates. DL designed some great blitz schemes in his day two decades ago. Unfortunately, they haven't changed much over the last 10-15 years and LeBeau had trouble going toe to toe with some of the younger, more creative offensive minds in the league. Case in point last Saturday night. Kubiak out-maneuvered LeBeau, it's as simple as that. Unfortunately that's been all too common the last few seasons.

I understand the reverence and respect for LeBeau, but I don't understand the sentiment by some that seem to think he's ENTITLED somehow to being DC for life.

 

He's only 77 so he's gotta few more years yet J/K J/K