CB/HB Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau (official thread)

[OSU_D/]

Just saw some highlights of the parade in Pittsburgh on Sportscenter... LeBeau said something to the effect that the Steelers had "The best damn defense in the land."

Once a Buckeye.....

[Buckskin86]

Dick LeBeau: Renaissance man
2009 Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award
Sunday, March 29, 2009
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Peter Diana / Post-GazetteEach time the defense gathers before practice, Dick LeBeau greets his players by saying something like this: "Men, it's a great day to be alive."

It's his way of telling them to seize the moment, and like everything else about the Steelers defensive coordinator, it comes from his heart.

"I believe that. Each day is a gift. Let's not waste too much time complaining about things," LeBeau says. "Every new day is a great day to get something done. Tomorrow is promised to no man."

First as a player and then as a coach, LeBeau, 71, has been getting things done on a football field for five decades in the NFL. He has influenced the game to the extent that just about every team's defensive game plan incorporates some of his ideas.

Not only have LeBeau's defenses regularly ranked among the NFL's elite, he has been on the sidelines of five Super Bowl entrants -- twice with the Bengals and all three times the Steelers have made the big game since the Chuck Noll era.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, LeBeau has the utmost respect of his peers. Consider the words of Brian Billick, who operated his own highly acclaimed defense when he coached the Ravens.

"Virtually every team in the NFL runs some form or another of concepts LeBeau initiated," Billick said. "You can't help but be impressed with LeBeau and how the Steelers operate ...Dick LeBeau is what every player, coach, scout, owner and fan should aspire to be. His love and commitment to the game [are] pure and unselfish."

Billick posted those comments on his blog after the Steelers honored LeBeau last season for his 50 years in the NFL. But they just as easily apply to the Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award that LeBeau will receive this week.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A native of London, Ohio, in flat farm country about 25 miles west of Columbus, LeBeau played on a national championship team under Woody Hayes at Ohio State in 1957.

In the NFL, he was an All-Pro in the suffocating secondary of the Detroit Lions, intercepting 62 passes in 14 seasons and establishing an NFL record for games played by a cornerback with 171.

Teammates Yale Larry, Dick "Night Train" Lane and Lem Barney were headed to the Hall of Fame. LeBeau stayed in the game as a coach who has been countering offenses for 36 years.

Dick LeBeau: Renaissance man

[Buckskin86]

photo from Bnuts

Bucknuts.com - Photo Gallery: Tressel's Spring Kickoff Luncheon

Buckeye greats highlight kickoff benefit
Lauren Ludlow
Issue date: 4/9/09

Ohio State football coaches Jim Tressel, John Cooper and Earle Bruce had some special guests at this year's Buckeye Football Spring Kickoff on Wednesday. The coaches were joined by Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. Proceeds from the event were donated to The Tressel Family Fund For Cancer Prevention and The Earle and Jean Bruce Alzheimer's Research Fund at the Ohio State University Medical Center.

LeBeau took the stage next and discussed his time as a Buckeye and in the NFL. He has spent 45 years in the league and has won two Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator.

"This is like a trip back home for me. Coach Cooper and I worked together," he said. "Coach Earle and I have been friends for longer than either of us would like to admit. I never got to work for or play for coach Tressel, but the Lord was smiling down on Ohio State when he brought that man to Columbus."

Buckeye greats highlight kickoff benefit - Campus

[Padraig]

It was a great, great speech by Coach LeBeau. You could tell by the tone of his voice and the sincerity with which he spoke each word how much Ohio State still means to him.

One funny quote he said when mentioning Woody (and in his best Woody voice) was:

"They say that we're 3 yards and a cloud of dust! But they never mention that often out of that cloud of dust there's an OSU halfback running for a 45 yard touchdown!" (or something close)

He was an excellent speaker and very enjoyable guy to meet. Another fine event all around.




P.S. the intro (of Coach LeBeau) by Jack Park was also fantastic.

[Buckskin86]

London to honor LeBeau?s legacy
Friday, May 15, 2009
By JEFF GATES
Press Contributor

The roots of his success.

For 50 years as a player and a coach in the National Football League, the branches of Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau?s tree are far reaching.

Despite the many kudos he has received in the NFL, LeBeau?s feet have always been firmly planted in the soil of his home town. Long before he graced the sidelines in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Detroit, Green Bay, and Philadelphia ? and even before his time in Columbus with the Ohio State Buckeyes ? LeBeau put on the shoulder pads for London High School.

"When you meet him, you?ll like him," LeBeau?s brother Bob said. "He?s still the same guy as he?s always been in London."

LeBeau?s London and NFL legacies will now come together next month as the former Red Raider third-string quarterback will be honored at an event to kickoff the LeBeau Field House Project ? a facility to be constructed in celebration of London?s Legend of the Fall. The fundraising dinner/auction will take place Saturday, June 27, starting at 6 p.m. in the London High School Gymnasium.

Welcome to the Madison Press!

[Buckskin86]

LeBeau dreams up a new defensive package
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com



To say that defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau eats, sleeps and breaths football is not an understatement.

The mastermind behind the Steelers defense that was once again ranked number one in the NFL last season laid out a new defensive package for the team at OTA?s on Tuesday and it came to him the night before.

?He gave us a new defense today that he thought about last night when he was in bed,? said an amazed James Farrior. ?He drew something up for us today. We expect stuff like that from Coach LeBeau.

?This offseason is no different. We probably have about 10 new calls right now. They are going to keep coming. It?s the same every year, new calls in and tweaking stuff to make us better. He has a great mind.?

While the players do come to expect this kind of thing from LeBeau, they know how lucky they are to have him working his magic on the defensive scheme.

?He is constantly thinking of ways we can do better,? said defensive end Brett Keisel. ?We put in a whole new package today that the wizard came up with last night. He was making some potion and somehow these X?s and O?s came up and it worked really well today so I am sure it?s something we will use.?

Official site of the Pittsburgh Steelers - Article

[sphincter]

I know this is off topic, but what's with the Steeler's helmets in that picture? Are those just for practice?

[Jake]

Originally Posted by sphincter

I know this is off topic, but what's with the Steeler's helmets in that picture? Are those just for practice?

Throwbacks.

[Buckskin86]

Defensive coordinator rankings: LeBeau knows
Posted: June 3, 2009

It seems the whole league is changing to a 3-4 these days, and there are plenty of those system gurus on this list. But the best coordinators are the coaches who can adapt the talent at their disposal and attack an offense in a variety of ways.

RealScouts, Sporting News' team of former NFL scouts, rank their top 20 defensive coordinators:


1. Dick LeBeau, Steelers. LeBeau perfected the zone blitz, and you'll see Pittsburgh continue to run this defense as long as he's the coordinator. He likes to mix looks and bring pressure from different points on the field. He doesn't have a great matchup secondary, so he attacks offenses with all-out pressure.

SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NFL Football stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from NFL Football columnists

[Buckskin86]

Originally Published: June 5, 2009
LeBeau is top defensive coordinator
By John Clayton
ESPN.com

Dick LeBeau has led the No. 1 defense the past two seasons; the Patriots' D has been in the top 10 for three years under Dean Pees; Leslie Frazier has developed a tough run defense in Minnesota. A major shakeup has juggled the rankings of the league's top five defensive coordinators. Rex Ryan, Steve Spagnuolo and Jim Schwartz coordinated top-10 defenses last season and now have head-coaching jobs, increasing the number of defensive head coaches to 17. Monte Kiffin left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to join his son Lane at the University of Tennessee. Former top coordinators Dom Capers (Green Bay Packers), Gregg Williams (New Orleans Saints) and Jim Bates (Tampa Bay) are trying new jobs. So who are the league's top 5 defensive coordinators after all of the changes?

1. Dick LeBeau, Pittsburgh Steelers -- He created the 3-4 defense, and even though he's in his 70s, he's inventive. LeBeau is coming off back-to-back seasons in which the Steelers finished No. 1 on defense. He's the current king.

NFL: John Clayton ranks Dick LeBeau of the Pittsburgh Steelers as the league's top defensive coordinator - ESPN

[Buckskin86]

6/22/2009

Dick LeBeau is currently a coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Brown News Service)

London to honor LeBeau?s legacy
By JEFF GATES
Brown News Service

For 50 years as a player and a coach in the National Football League, the branches of Richard Charles ?Dick? LeBeau?s tree are far reaching.

Despite the many kudos he has received in the NFL, LeBeau?s feet have always been firmly planted in the soil of his home town. Long before he graced the sidelines in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Detroit, Green Bay, and Philadelphia ? and even before his time in Columbus with the Ohio State Buckeyes ? LeBeau put on the shoulder pads for London High School.

?When you meet him, you?ll like him,? LeBeau?s brother Bob said. ?He?s still the same guy as he?s always been in London.?

LeBeau?s London and NFL legacies will now come together as the former Red Raider quarterback will be honored at an event to kick off the LeBeau Field House Project ? a facility to be constructed in celebration of London?s Legend of the Fall. The fundraising dinner/auction will be held 6 p.m. June 27 starting in the London High School Gymnasium.

Among those expected to honor one of football?s most innovative defensive gurus will be three current NFL head coaches ? the Pittsburgh Steelers? Mike Tomlin, the Cincinnati Bengals? Marvin Lewis, and Dick Jauron of the Buffalo Bills.

Denied:1up! Software ()

[Buckskin86]

ATH: Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Announced
Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Release: 06/23/2009



COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Twelve members will be inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame the weekend of Sept. 25-26, the Men?s Varsity O Alumni Association and the Women?s Varsity O Alumnae Society announced Tuesday. The class will be officially inducted in two separate ceremonies Sept. 25 and introduced to the public at halftime of the Ohio State home football game against Illinois Sept. 26.

The 2009 class includes: Men - Neal Colzie (football), Robert Gary (cross country/track and field), Bob Hopper (swimming), Andy Katzenmoyer (football), Dick LeBeau (football), Michael Redd (basketball) and Pandel Savic (football); Women - Kaja Fiserova (rowing), Allison Hanna (golf), Vanessa Immordino (field hockey), Emma Laaksonen (ice hockey) and Jim Montrella (swimming coach).

Dick LeBeau
Football 1956-58
Three-time football letterwinner Dick LeBeau played for Woody Hayes and was a member of the 1957 National Championship team. He went on to a 14-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions, where he set the NFL record for consecutive starts for a cornerback (171). He is tied for seventh all-time in the NFL with 62 career interceptions and appeared in three Pro Bowls. In his first 35 years as an NFL coach, LeBeau has been on staff with the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, including the 2005 and 2008 Super Bowl champion Steelers.

ATH: Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Announced - The Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site - OhioStateBuckeyes.com

[Buckskin86]

Friends, former teammates honor LeBeau
By Scott Brown, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 28, 2009

LONDON, OHIO ? He returned home and showed he has never strayed far from the small Ohio town that sprouted up amidst the cornfields that still frame it.

He signed one autograph after another at the high school where he is seen as a legend by everyone except for probably himself. Dick LeBeau may not like to be the center of attention, but the Steelers' defensive coordinator couldn't avoid it Saturday night.

More than 400 people, including a handful of his former college and NFL teammates, packed into the gym at London High School for "A Night with the Coach." They were part of a fundraising effort that is expected to produce a new building that has already been christened the LeBeau Field House.

They were also part of an evening that celebrated the man who is going into his 51st season in the NFL.

"When you're growing up, you don't expect to have your name laying around anything on your high school," LeBeau said. "That's really a sincere honor that I don't take lightly."

Among those who were at the dinner and ceremony that followed were Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron and Bengals coach Marvin Lewis ? both are LeBeau proteges ? as well as LeBeau's mother, Beulah, who is in her mid-90s.

No Steelers were in attendance ? a video message from coach Mike Tomlin was played during the ceremony ? and part of that could be attributed to one of the few ground rules LeBeau set for the fundraiser.

He did not want any of his players contacted about it so they would not feel obligated to attend it while they have down time before the start of training camp next month.

That, in a nutshell, is LeBeau.

"He's the best," said Jauron, who played for LeBeau in Cincinnati from 1978-80. "Anything anybody told you about him, if it was good, it was true. I'm just really thankful I know him."

Friends, former teammates honor LeBeau - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[osugrad21]

Link

Dick LeBeau comes home
Monday, June 29, 2009
By JEFF GATES
Contributing Writer

A friend forever.
That was an overwhelming sentiment Saturday night as London football legend Dick LeBeau was honored at his hometown high school - a place that will eventually have a field house that will bear his name. The evening - ?A Night with the Coach? - served as a fundraiser for that project, and was spearheaded by a group led by current LHS football coach Bill Dennis.
Close to 500 high school, college and National Football League teammates, friends, and admirers were on hand to pay tribute to his contributions to their lives.
?Everything he touches, he leaves it better than he found it,? said Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis of his mentor and friend. ?That is the special mark of the man.?
Last year, in season number 50 in the NFL as either a player or a coach, everything LeBeau?s Pittsburgh defense touched turned to gold.
Actually, it turned to diamonds as LeBeau proudly showed his now-two Super Bowl rings - the most recent of which he earned this past winter as his Steelers defeated Arizona for the World Championship.
After close to a dozen people from LeBeau?s storied past and present showered him with accolades (as well as reminding him of some humorous moments), the man of honor addressed the crowd in the same humble way all in attendance have grown to love.
?I?d never ask you to pay ten cents to see me,? LeBeau said. ?But if it?s anything to do with London, we?re going to go.?
LeBeau?s admiration for his hometown is widely known. That fact was evidenced by some of the comments supplied by videotape from current Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel.
?It there is one thing you taught us,? Tressel said, ?never forget about where you come from.?
And where LeBeau has come from has obviously not forgotten about him either.

[Buckskin86]

LeBeau makes a house call
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By JEFF GATES
Contributing Writer

The Doctor was in.

And he made a very special house call.

As Dick LeBeau looked across the plethora of admirers who had gathered Saturday to pay homage to him ? and to support the field house that will be built in his honor at his alma mater ? two men were seated in London High School Ray Chadwell Gymnasi-um paying very close attention.

They knew they only got where they were by serving their blitz-filled residencies under LeBeau?s tutelage.

?He has been a great mentor to me,? said Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. ?He is the doctor of defense.?

While the pinnacle of Lewis? coaching career so far has been as the defensive coordinator for a Baltimore Ravens defense that dominated football on its way to a victory over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, it was the tutoring prior to that which likely laid the groundwork for success.

From 1992 to 1995, Lewis was linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His mentor at that time was LeBeau, who was serving as Blitzburgh?s defensive backfield coach and defensive coordinator.

?I remember calling my parents and telling them how excited I was to be coaching with Dick LeBeau,? Lewis said, recalling that February 1992 life-changing moment. ?I told them I was going to be coaching with one of those guys whose football trading card I had.?

Welcome to the Madison Press!