Dick LeBeau

Charles Richard “Dick” LeBeau (born September 9, 1937 in London, Ohio) is a former football player and is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator. He spent 14 years in the NFL as a player and is in his 36th as a coach.^[1][2] Considered an “innovator” and “defensive football genius”,^[3][4] LeBeau created the ‘zone blitz’ when he was defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in the late 1980s.

Biography

Playing career

LeBeau attended Ohio State University, playing for famed coach Woody Hayes, and was on the 1957 national championship team, playing at cornerback and halfback. Also in 1957, playing both sides of the ball, he scored two touchdowns as Ohio State came back to beat Michigan 31-14.

He was initially drafted in the fifth round in 1959 by the Cleveland Browns but was cut from their team, and was signed as a rookie free agent by the Detroit Lions. He spent his entire 14 year NFL career with them as a defensive back, teamed during the early part of that run with Dick "Night Train" Lane and Yale Lary, and later with Lem Barney. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1965 through 1967. Even though he was never a First-team All-Pro he was considered a pretty good player by making Second-team All-Pro a couple of times. He was a leading interceptor, with 62 career interceptions for 762 return yards and 3 touchdowns, and holds the NFL record for consecutive game appearances for a cornerback with 171. He also recovered 9 fumbles, returning them for 53 yards and a touchdown. Johnny Unitas always had respect for him, stating, "Dick is a good corner, I am just glad Night Train Lane is gone, because there was a great corner, Night Train was the best".

On 2009, LeBeau was named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s seniors committee as finalists for election into the Hall of Fame with the Class of 2010 along with running back Floyd Little^[5].

Coaching career

After retirement as a player, LeBeau became an NFL coach. The following teams hired him as an assistant:

• Philadelphia Eagles (1973-1975)
• Green Bay Packers (1976-1979)
• Cincinnati Bengals (1980-1991), (1997-2002) - Won 1981 and 1988 AFC Championships and 3 AFC Central Division Championships (1981, 1988, and 1990)
• Pittsburgh Steelers (1992-1996), (2004-present) - Won 4 AFC Central Division Championships (1992 and 1994-96), 3 AFC North Division Championships (2004, 2007, and 2008), 3 AFC Championships (1995, 2005, and 2008),Super Bowl XL, and Super Bowl XLIII.
• Buffalo Bills (2003)

He started his coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles as a special teams coach under coach Mike McCormack, he spent 3 seasons in Philadelphia. In 1976, LeBeau coached the defensive backs for the Green Bay Packers under Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr, in his first season Willie Buchanon, Johnnie Gray, Steve Luke and Steve Perry combined for 10 interceptions. In 1980, he became the Cincinnati Bengals defensive backfield coach.

In 1981, Cincinnati had an outstanding defense that had not given up more than 30 points in any of their regular season or playoff games. Their line was anchored by defensive ends Ross Browner and Eddie Edwards, who did a great job stopping the run. Cincinnati's defense was also led by defensive backs Louis Breeden and Ken Riley, and Linebackers Bo Harris, Jim LeClair, and Reggie Williams, who intercepted four passes and recovered three fumbles. Bengals intercepted 19 passes for 318 yards and also recorded 41 total sacks. The Bengals played in their first AFC Championship Game defeating San Diego 27–7, limited a San Diego offense - which featured three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: quarterback Dan Fouts, receiver Charlie Joiner, and tight end Kellen Winslow; the offense also featured two superb running backs, Chuck Muncie, who led the NFL with 19 touchdowns, and multi-talented rookie James Brooks - to only 7 points at Riverfront Stadium in a temperature of nine degrees below zero with a wind-chill factor of minus 59. In Super Bowl XVI, the Bengals trailed 20–0 at halftime and lost to San Francisco, 26–21. Even though he was only the secondary coach, he had a great influence on the Bengals overall defense.

In 1984 LeBeau was promoted to be the Bengals defensive coordinator. He did very well, rarely allowing over 30 points in a game to an opponent. In 1984, his first season as defensive coordinator, the Bengals dropped from the top ranked defense in 1983 (when they coordinated by Hank Bullough) to 13th in 1984 and allowed only 339 points all season. In 1985 they dropped from 13th to 22nd but Dick LeBeau's zone blitz scheme was doing very well. The next season, 1986, improved cutting points allowed to 394 and finishing as the 20th ranked defense in the NFL. In 1987 they did even better, cutting the points allowed to 370.

In 1988, the Bengals defense ranked 17th in the league, allowing 5,556 yards and 329 points during the regular season. Cincinnati had a superb defensive line, led by pro bowl defensive tackle Tim Krumrie, along with linemen Jim Skow (9.5 sacks), David Grant (5 sacks), and Jason Buck (6 sacks). Pro Bowl defensive backs Eric Thomas and David Fulcher (the world's biggest free safety) combined for 12 interceptions. The team ended up winning the AFC Central Division with a 12–4 record. Bengals lost Super Bowl XXIII against San Francisco 49ers for the second time in franchise history. The following season, 1989, the Bengals defense was 15th in the NFL, an improvement of 2 spots and were in the top half of NFL defenses due to LeBeau's scheme. In 1990 and 1991 the Bengals defense ranked 25th and 28th of 28 teams and the Bengals made a change in defensive coordinators.

LeBeau was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 as the secondary coach. In 1994, 4 defensive players were called to play in the 1995 Pro Bowl (Kevin Greene, Carnell Lake, Greg Lloyd and Rod Woodson). As a secondary coach Lake and Woodson were heavily influenced by LeBeau.

In 1995 LeBeau was promoted to be the defensive coordinator and the 1995 Pittsburgh defense ranked third in the league in total yards allowed after they had finished as the second ranked defense in 1994 in that same category, so the drop off was minimal with LeBeau at the helm. They did allow 327 points in 1995 as opposed to 234 the year before when the Steelers defense was coordinated by Dom Capers, but they got to the Super Bowl in 1995 with a much improved offense. Pro Bowl linebacker Kevin Greene led the team with 9 sacks, while Pro Bowl linebacker Greg Lloyd led the team with 86 tackles. The secondary was led by Pro Bowl defensive backsCarnell Lake and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. Steelers lost against Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, making it the third Super Bowl lost for him.

In 1997 LeBeau took a lateral move as defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals and did wonders. The Bengals defense was 25th in 1996 and in his first year back with the Bengals they only dropped to 28th and allowed just over 400 points. In 1998 they didn't drop at all, remaining 28th in the NFL (of 30 teams) and allowed 452 points. In 1999 the zone blitz scheme began to take hold and although the Bengals defense allowed 460 points, they dropped to 25th on the NFL (out of now 31 teams) an improvement of 3 spots.

LeBeau was rewarded with the the head coach position of the Cincinnati Bengals for three seasons, from 2000 through 2002. In those years the Bengals' zone blitz scheme was becoming more dominants. In 2000 the Bengals defense improved and got to 22nd in the NFL. In 2001 they allowed only 309 points and in 2002 they were ranked 17th in the NFL, although they did allow slightly more points (456).

In 2003 LeBeau was an assistant with the Buffalo Bills. LeBeau then went back to the Steelers in 2004.

As an assistant coach he is credited with inventing the "Fire Zone" or "zone blitz" defense, which employs unpredictable pass rushes and pass coverage from various players.^[7] His defenses typically employ 3-4 sets, with any of the 4 linebackers and frequently a defensive back among the pass rushers, while defensive linemen may drop back into short pass coverage zones to compensate for the pass rush coming from other positions. The design is intended to confuse the opposition's quarterback and frustrate its blocking schemes, as the offense may be unsure on each play of which defenders will rush the passer and which will drop into coverage. While often described as a "blitzing" scheme (implying more than the typical number of four pass rushers used by most defenses), the call on any particular "zone blitz" play may involve only three or four pass rushers but from unpredictable positions and angles. Although widely considered a defensive innovator, his stint as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals was unsuccessful^[8].

LeBeau is beloved among his players, many of whom refer to him as "Coach Dad." Steelers players have given him many gifts, including a Rolex watch.^[9]

LeBeau was named "Coordinator of the year" by the Sporting News for the 2008 season.^[10]

Personal life

LeBeau can also be seen in the 1970 movie Too Late the Hero, where he played Michael Caine's double in a scene ^[11]

LeBeau is a member of the "Blue Ribbon Panel" that chooses the top Super Bowl teams for "America's Game" on the NFL Network.

Dick is an avid golfer and at one time carried a +1 handicap.

Dick and his wife Nancy have one son, Brandon Grant.

Dick has three daughters and one son with his first wife, the late Phyllis Geer: Linda, Rick, Lori, and Phyllis.

Dick was born and raised in London, Ohio where he graduated from London High School in 1955. He later went off to Ohio State University where he graduated in 1959.

Dick's mother Beulah C. LeBeau, 96, of London, Ohio died Wednesday morning, September 30, 2009

References

External links

• Pittsburgh Steelers Bio
• Gallery of Dick LeBeau football cards