We should find out very soon if Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler will replace Dick LeBeau as the team’s defensive coordinator as head coach Mike Tomlin is expected to meet Monday with the longtime assistant about the job, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Butler has long been the considered the heir apparent to LeBeau, who reportedly resigned Saturday. It is unknown whether or not the Steelers will also interview anyone outside the organization for the job.
According to Dulac, Butler’s contract expired at the end of the season, so if he’s not given the defensive coordinator job one would think that he might look elsewhere for employment.
Whoever is hired to replace LeBeau, we can probably expect that Tomlin will have a bigger role in the defense, according to Dulac.
“For the first time since he was hired in 2007, Tomlin was more involved in the defensive planning this season — the first sign he was seeking to change how the Steelers play on defense,” Dulac wrote Monday.
The Steelers will likely promote defensive assistant Jerry Olsavsky to linebackers coach should Butler wind up being promoted. Joey Porter is the other candidate to fill Butler’s position, but he’s only been on the staff one season as a defensive assistant. Olsavsky, on the other hand, has been with the Steelers for five seasons.
