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Dick LeBeau Out as Defensive Coordinator

I've always thought AR2 was running things like Jerry Jones, without the "Look at me" aspect. I think that Tomlin was hired and told to do as he was told. I really believe that a large number of things are decided on by AR2.

How ironic would it be if Tomlin is finally given HC Control, and his **** started working?
 
blitzburghv5 said:
The speculation has begun around here...bold assumptions..... leaps in judgement.... and now LeBeau is painted as a victim, and The team FO is villainized .....if you liked LeBeau, fine...I liked him.... but at 77 it was time....been past time...

Thank goodness he's gone so.I.don't have to.see anymore 10 yd cushions by the DBs....I'm not the only one who felt this way about 10 yd cushions....
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Just to point out that every team has a lot of 10 yard cushions... even Seattle at times... even on third downs... the idea is that you sometimes move up and press (as we did on occasion) making the quick throw risky. the only time anyone notices it is when you have a QB that gives off what he intends to do with his stance, ala Cortez this year. Its a gripe I hear all the time that really has no basis in reality, second only to the prevent defense gripe. The vast majority of times we are never playing prevent in a game, yet people ***** about it non-stop... all zone is not prevent...
 
MT~Forged said:
I've always thought AR2 was running things like Jerry Jones, without the "Look at me" aspect. I think that Tomlin was hired and told to do as he was told. I really believe that a large number of things are decided on by AR2.

How ironic would it be if Tomlin is finally given HC Control, and his **** started working?
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We will see if Tomlin get to pick his own guy...If Bulter is our new DC do you think he was told to hire him or if he hired him? Our ownership has been to hands on lately in my opinion.
 
scstillerfan said:
To me, the secondary will be the biggest challenge. Heyward, Tuitt, McClendon, and McCullers are all suited for the 4-3. Heyward can be one pass rusher, but we need at least one more. At LB, I'm not sure Jones is a good fit at any position. Could be they go with Shazier-Timmons-Spence and use Jones as an edge rusher on passing downs.
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You just spent a year training Tuitt and McCullers to play in the 3-4. Heyward just began to come into his own in the 3-4. Jones is in year 2 of training and Shazier in year 1 of the 3-4 and neither look ready yet. Now you change schemes and you are starting fresh with 3 second-year defenders and one third-year defender. In a sense, they'd be rookies all over again.
 
MT~Forged said:
I've always thought AR2 was running things like Jerry Jones, without the "Look at me" aspect. I think that Tomlin was hired and told to do as he was told. I really believe that a large number of things are decided on by AR2.
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The coaching moves have been interesting. Guys like Haley, Lake, Porter, LeBeau, Mitchell, Butler all looked like they were/could have been ARII moves while many of the others seem like moves any coach in the league could make.

stillwright said:
We will see if Tomlin get to pick his own guy...If Bulter is our new DC do you think he was told to hire him or if he hired him? Our ownership has been to hands on lately in my opinion.
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Butler has been on the "handshake agreement" as the DC in waiting since 2009. We will see.
 
MT~Forged said:
How ironic would it be if Tomlin is finally given HC Control, and his **** started working?
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My head would probably explode.

I tend to think that Art2 is more assertive and less patient than his father, but he's nowhere near as meddlesome or controlling as Jerry Jones.

Hell, Garret is basically Jerry's sex slave.
 
stillwright said:
We will see if Tomlin get to pick his own guy...If Bulter is our new DC do you think he was told to hire him or if he hired him? Our ownership has been to hands on lately in my opinion.
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Its always been more hands on with coaching hires than one thinks... in fact I was wondering if the parting came from the steelers wanting to part ways with a position coach or two, as they are very prone to do after a bad season....

I mean I just cannot see Lebeau waking up and just saying he wanted out... either the steelers were pushing him out directly (which actually would be a weird move because the coaching calls were never the issue this season, and the adjustment to the lack of talent level nearly worked), the HC wanted to change up the D in a way he wasn't comfortable, or he was against player and /or coaching cuts that were coming....
 
SteelerFan448 said:
You just spent a year training Tuitt and McCullers to play in the 3-4. Heyward just began to come into his own in the 3-4. Jones is in year 2 of training and Shazier in year 1 of the 3-4 and neither look ready yet. Now you change schemes and you are starting fresh with 3 second-year defenders and one third-year defender. In a sense, they'd be rookies all over again.
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That's a great point.

The youth and inexperience in the front 7 would make a conversion in scheme much more difficult.

Whom they hire at DC will give us a glimpse at where they're going.
 
blitzburghv5 said:
The speculation has begun around here...bold assumptions..... leaps in judgement.... and now LeBeau is painted as a victim, and The team FO is villainized .....if you liked LeBeau, fine...I liked him.... but at 77 it was time....been past time...

Thank goodness he's gone so.I.don't have to.see anymore 10 yd cushions by the DBs....I'm not the only one who felt this way about 10 yd cushions....
Click to expand...

I think we all liked DL, but it was time to move on. Like it or not. Teams were gashing our D for sometime now. We weren't horrible and LeBeau would make lemonade out of the lemons he had. The game is an ever changing league and you have to be on the pulse of it. I'm not saying DL was not, but I've been wanting to see some new ideas for a few years now. We all like how Seattle plays and long for those days again. Today is the first day to get back there.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
You just spent a year training Tuitt and McCullers to play in the 3-4. Heyward just began to come into his own in the 3-4. Jones is in year 2 of training and Shazier in year 1 of the 3-4 and neither look ready yet. Now you change schemes and you are starting fresh with 3 second-year defenders and one third-year defender. In a sense, they'd be rookies all over again.
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But see the Steelers have took on variations of the 4/3 that has been documented.

So if we are going to say those players spent a year training on the 3/4 it is also fair to say they spent a year training on variations of the 4/3.
 
slashsteel said:
But see the Steelers have took on variations of the 4/3 that has been documented.

So if we are going to say those players spent a year training on the 3/4 it is also fair to say they spent a year training on variations of the 4/3.
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Variations of a 4-3 or four down linemen in the nickel?
 
Firing lebeau? You just can't do that
 
They may well have tried to figurehead him... give Butler the playcalling and keep him as Dc in Name only... I could see him walking in that scenerio
 
thesteelcity said:
"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."
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at least they were respectful enough not to fire him.

But yeah he was being pushed out.

But do any of us think his staying would have been in the BEST interest of the here and now, moving forward?

Setting our love for the man aside?
 
I think Dick has finally taught Butler everything......Hell it takes players years to figure it out.. Butler finally has....He should be hired within the week.
 
I think this is Tomlin's decision. I've never thought he was a great coach but gave him time to see what mettle he has. Well Tomlin, this is now 100% completely on you - time to put up or hopefully get canned (if you don't succeed)
 
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Punxsutawney said:
That's a great point.

The youth and inexperience in the front 7 would make a conversion in scheme much more difficult.

Whom they hire at DC will give us a glimpse at where they're going.
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Why? They are young and inexperienced, which means they are not set in their ways. I would think it would be harder to teach a defense experienced in one scheme a new one, than take a bunch of young guys are teach them whatever you want.

I think we are way overthinking this. If they get good players, or the players they have start playing better, the scheme, whatever it is, will work
 
stillwright said:
Nope...It was Tomlin out there covering on those 3rd and long conversions for the last 5 years.
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May have been the players, coaches, and schemes that Tomlin handpicked and oversaw that were blowing those coverages
 
Idioteque said:
May have been the players, coaches, and schemes that Tomlin handpicked and oversaw that were blowing those coverages
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So as a DC you keep doing the same thing game in and game out that doesn't work....The game changed.. Other teams changed with it. Maybe it was the scheme. We all know what DL can do with a **** load of talent...now we also know what he can do when he doesn't have it at every position. He tucked tail and bailed.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
Oh please, he did not bail. The Steelers "fired" him just like they did with Arians.
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DL himself came out and said he quit on his team....I will believe the WORDS out of his mouth. I have no reason not to.
 
It's a hard decision on which direction to go.

Whether you're going to 4-3 or stay put at 3-4 it will take some time.

We don't have the LBers and the secondary to be a good 3-4 defense, and we don't have all the DL and secondary to run a good 4-3.

Either way it will take time....I just hope the defense can be just decent again to have a shot or two at a Super Bowl before Bens time is up.



Personally, I'd make the switch to 4-3.
 
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