PITTSBURGH (AP) – At 73 years old, Dick LeBeau still has that “swagger.” He still designs and makes the calls for one of the league’s best and most aggressive defenses. He still finds new ways to be innovative.
But the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator also has remained humble enough to know staffers at the team’s practice facility by name. He does push-ups with his players, and has even been known to shed a tear when those same players who admire him so much go out of their way to pay him tribute.
In the nine seasons LeBeau has served as the Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator, the team has never finished ranked lower than No. 9 defensively in the NFL, and its average ranking is No. 3. This season, no team allowed less points and only one permitted less yardage than the Steelers (13-4), who host the New York Jets (13-5) Sunday in the AFC championship game.
It’s those types of results that earn players’ attention. But when it comes to LeBeau and the Steelers, the members of what has been arguably the league’s most consistently dominant defense over the past decade take their respect for him almost to a level of reverence.
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