Getty ImagesToday marked the beginning of Dick LeBeau Month in Pittsburgh, but tonight he’s moving south.
According to Jim Wyatt of the Tenneseean, the veteran assistant coach is expected to be named the Titans’ assistant head coach/defense.
LeBeau worked with Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt in Pittsburgh (along with a lot of other coaches), and lends some immediate credibility to a team that needs in.
He had a chance to go to Arizona, but apparently preferred to stay in the Eastern half of the country to be nearer family.
Ray Horton will remain defensive coordinator, but a chance to add a mind like LeBeau’s to staff had to have been an easy call for Whisenhunt.
Pittsburgh will be 6 and 10 next year.
Wait a minute, Tennessee has a team?
Pittsburgh south
Wow, that is really sad. A former legend reduced to starting over for the worst team in the NFL. He must reaaaaly love coaching.
Nice….Hope this means the Titans will be drafting Williams or Gregory in the number 2 spot.
@pooflingingmonkey
he had other options, this is the one he chose for many reasons.
There will a new coaching staff in 2016. Whisenhunt is a “dead man coaching”
I wonder if Dick realizes that Warren Moon isn’t the QB any more?
How sad.
A legendary coach like Dick LeBeau ending his career with a bottom-feeder like the Tennessee Titans.
Kind of like Brett Favre ending his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
He squandered his retirement money on gambling and booz. That’s why he’s going from HOF SB winning D-Coordinator to assistant defensive coach. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
The colts domination of the afc south will continue like usual.we will always own this division and we are your daddy.then we will bring home another Super Bowl.the titans won’t ever matter,we own you.#COLTSNATION .
buckeye044 says: Feb 3, 2015 8:29 PM
@pooflingingmonkey
“he had other options, this is the one he chose for many reasons.”
The CFL doesn’t count.
I find it so Sad that Tomlin convinced the Rooneys to make Lebeau his scapegoat for their Playoff woes…
# of Steeler Playoff wins since TebowGate = 0
thecoltsarethemodelfranchise says:
Feb 3, 2015 8:44 PM
The colts domination of the afc south will continue like usual.we will always own this division and we are your daddy.then we will bring home another Super Bowl.the titans won’t ever matter,we own you.#COLTSNATION .
@ ColtsNation
#BradyisYOURDaddy
There second super bowl defense in 08-09, was one of the greatest I’ve ever watched. They were number 1 in every single category, they don’t get talked about because only Polamalu is HOF bound, and that shows you just how good of a defensive mind Lebeau had.
Good luck Dick. Thank you for the good years with the Steelers.
First PFT article not to mention Dick LeBeau’s age.
WHAT?!? No way! This hire is way to smart for this team.
– Titans Fan
How does he not have millions saved up?
There are your Golden Years not your Titan Torture Years.
Happy Dick Lebeau month!
#BlameTomlin
Leonard Williams, Danny Shelton or Randy Gregory 2nd overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft!!!
No shocker on this one. Dulac called this two weeks ago.
As for people saying LeBeau should retire, the game is this guy’s life and he thinks he can contribute. If you’ve ever known anyone who lives for their work and love what they do, you couldn’t pay them to retire as long as they can keep doing it.
I love LeBeau. When he used to make gourmet food for Schultz and Klink was comedy gold.
Baltimoreans, do you think Ray Lewis knows where the White suit is?
Nah, he knew but he forgot…typical Baltimoron.
Jokes about a man of fine Character like LeBeau are made by couch potatoes with dreams of being a star….not being a star…..pathetic.
Tennessee is a beautiful state I would like to live there compared to ohio
bradyisyourdaddy says:
Feb 3, 2015 8:49 PM
I find it so Sad that Tomlin convinced the Rooneys to make Lebeau his scapegoat for their Playoff woes…
****************************************************************
Wrong.
Butler’s has been the planned successor to LeBeau for years. He’s walked away from several opportunities to stay with the Steelers with the intention of eventually getting the DC spot.
With recent coaching changes around the league, it was likely another team was going to make another move at Butler. There is absolutely no way you invest all that time grooming someone to take over for a guy like LeBeau just to let them leave, particularly when it’s clear that LeBeau’s not going to be around long. The defense is already in transition and has issues that need to be addressed. It was as good a time to move on as any and has nothing to do with being a scapegoat or whatever you’re trolling about.
ColtsNation? Does winning a crappy division the last few years, and getting whooped in the playoffs each year qualify you as having a Nation?
He had other options…bingo caller at Steelworker’s Retirement Home.
Tim Tebeau
First good move by the Titans in a long, long while.
easy move…he just wanted another Burger at Quarterback lol. This’ll be the Pittsburg of the south now tho. Look out Colts, Texans and Titans are no push overs no more with those defenses.
Too bad some of you youngsters didn’t see him play. Don’t forget the past people. This guy was a hell of a football player.
They sure do need “in.”
But you turn down the Cardinals for the Titans? Wow.
The steelers overachieved this year, and anyone that watches football realizes it.
The Ravens will win that division for the foreseeable future, and other–vastly superior–teams, like will be wild cards before the hopeless steelers.
Anybody have a picture of Tomlin giving his famous bug-eyes upon hearing the news??
Good hire by the Titans! As a Bengals fan, glad to see him out of the AFC North! He’s a helluva defensive coordinator!
tokyosandblaster says:
Feb 3, 2015 10:13 PM
The steelers overachieved this year, and anyone that watches football realizes it.
The Ravens will win that division for the foreseeable future, and other–vastly superior–teams, like will be wild cards before the hopeless steelers.
Let me remind you. Bengals may have some say in that! They are waaaay under the cap. Roughly $34 million under. Ratbirds are currently about $3 million under the cap! So we’ll see who wins that division next year!
rawiron1 says:
Feb 3, 2015 9:23 PM
Tennessee is a beautiful state I would like to live there compared to ohio
That’s odd rawiron1. This is a quote directly from LeBeau himself: The 77-year old coach, a Hall of Fame defensive back, reportedly wanted to remain close to Cincinnati, and that’s something the Titans could offer him that another former colleague, Arizona coach Bruce Arians, could not.
I agree that Tennessee is a beautiful state though. I lived in Knoxville for a couple of years. So close to Neyland Stadium you could hear the crowd on Saturdays from my front porch.
Having an old man who knows his stuff and is still able to and wants to work is an asset to any organization
Pats fan here
Congrats Tennessee that might be your best pick up ever
Not sure what happened in steel town, but they can’t be happy about this
Did someone say the steelers will be 6-10 next year..lol good one. The fans continuously hear the same thing every year even after the steelers win the division when no one said they would. Some people never learn. Good Luck Lebeau as long as its not against the steelers, thanks for everything in Pittsburgh. The steelers defense will get much better and keep you proud.
At his age he probably doesn’t even know his name.
Good job Coach Whisenhunt! The Titan coaching staff is looking pretty impressive and with the draft position they have, this is a year in which things are about to get interesting! 08-09 saw Whisenhunt take the Cards to the SB where they meant LeBeau’s Steelers in a game reminiscent of this year’s SB, and with Ray Horton in the mix as DC, hello playoffs!
All the Titans need is a #1 QB to build around.
Cool. Ray Horton played for Lebeau in Cincinnati, coached with him later in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
As a Steelers fan, I can’t help but wish LeBeau nothing but the best. I hate how it ended for him in Pittsburgh and I’d love to see him do well with Tennessee and end his career on a high note.
Titans fans can rest assured they just improved their defense considerably with this hire.
….and the Stoolers are still stuck with Tomlin.
Though Lebeau loves football, his life… he’ll always stay near ‘family’… good man…
I got his autograph this past training camp… time to frame it and place it on my man cave wall of fame
they should have made him SAME Title in Pittsburgh and moved Butler up to Defense Coord !
Dumb….
Fire Tomlin…
AND for the steelers 2015…. don’t rule out… BELL and BEN…. offense… two games 6 TDs…
Haven’t the Steelers suffered enough? Now this?
As a Jags fan, this sucks. LeBeau twice a season? Jags are 9-10 lifetime vs. LeBeau, so we can compete, but seeing a HOF coach come into the Division to run the defense while Wiz takes the reins on offense looks formidable from here.
Dick LeBeau should just call it a day already he is gonna be 78 soon,Who wants a 80 year old football coach?
This is an exciting hire for our currently troubled team.
Welcome Dick!
he passed on the Cardinals for the Titans? I understand the Steelers connection in Whiz and Horton, but for the second worst team in the league?
The person who should’ve left is Kevin Colbert. When you draft like an idiot, this is the defense you put on the field. It’s not a coaching issue.
Le Beau was forced out because his system became old and antiquated in Pittsburgh. All Steeler fans know that. Teams came in knowing exactly where the blitz was coming from because he would do the same things with no variations. And..he didn’t make “in game” adjustments well either.
Nothing personal Dick but your time has passed. And of course Wisenhunt would take Le Beau. He’ll bring something new to the Titans but for us, all he did was do the same old thing. And in today’s NFL, you have to adjust on the fly and be able to diversify. And he couldn’t do that.
Steelers run the north! Always have always will!
The Steelers are a bad team because of the talent, not the coaching.
Even George Bush knows Colbert is “turrible.”
Titans D takes a huge step towards legitimacy. Now they need some talent.
Whisenhunt needs all the help he can get.
If nothing else, we’ll soon know if LeBeau has the patience to lower his expectations.