Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin received a lot of credit for retaining Dick LeBeau as his DC when he took over the job in 2007. To hear Bob Labriola tell it, however, it might actually have been a prerequisite. According to Labriola, the late Dan Rooney told him Tomlin was the only candidate during their last head-coaching search who planned to retain LeBeau and his 3-4 defense.
“Here’s a little fun fact for you guys. Dean Pees was gonna be Russ Grimm’s defensive coordinator if he got hired in 2007”, Labriola said on SNR Drive. “The Ambassador [Dan Rooney] told me, of the finalists, Mike Tomlin was the only guy who said he was gonna keep LeBeau and the 3-4 [defense]”.
Among the finalists to succeed Bill Cowher as the Steelers’ head coach in addition to Tomlin were Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt was the Steelers’ OC, Grimm their OL coach. Grimm was the favorite in the press to succeed Cowher, with Tomlin’s hiring coming as a slight surprise.
But Mike Tomlin thoroughly impressed Rooney and the rest of the decision makers at the time, including former GM Kevin Colbert. And I’m sure it didn’t hurt that he wanted, or was willing, to retain Dick LeBeau. The Steelers were thriving with their 3-4 defense, and to change, with a young franchise quarterback, would have set them back. They won a Super Bowl two years into Tomlin’s tenure, thanks largely to LeBeau’s group.
“If he had said, ‘No, I’m gonna change to the Tampa 2’, and you try and take that personnel and turn it into a 4-3 defense, it would’ve taken you four years to adapt”, Labriola said of the notion of Tomlin wanting to axe LeBeau and import his own defensive system into the Steelers.
Of course, toward the end of LeBeau’s tenure with the Steelers, Mike Tomlin increasingly seized control. At the time, the Steelers were struggling on defense, though that was partially a talent issue. Most agreed at the time that something needed to change.
LeBeau’s successor, longtime Steelers LB coach Keith Butler, acknowledged that Tomlin always had a big role in the defense. He also revealed upon retiring that they extended into the latter stages of the LeBeau era. While long speculated, that was the first time anybody went on record with such sentiments.
But if the Steelers had gone with Grimm over Tomlin, Dick LeBeau would have been looking for work in 2007. Dean Pees is no slouch, and he had some excellent years as DC in New England and Baltimore. At the time, however, like Tomlin, he was a one-year DC. Despite being 57 years old, he had even less NFL coaching experience than Tomlin.
The Steelers will see Pees this week, as he is serving in an advisory capacity with the Ravens. LeBeau is long gone from the rivalry, but Tomlin’s defense remains a fixture all these years later. And it’s helped the Steelers win eight of their last nine games against the Ravens, so it can’t be too bad.
