Steelers turn to Butler as defensive coordinator
Calling it the thrill of a lifetime, Keith Butler accepted the position of defensive coordinator for the Steelers Tuesday.
The hiring of Butler, who had been the team’s linebackers coach since 2003, came four days after longtime defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was asked to resign.
“It’s the thrill of a lifetime for me,” the 58-year-old Butler told Steelers.com. “This is a dream come true for me, and it would be for a lot of people. I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”
The opportunity arose when LeBeau resigned Saturday after meeting with head coach Mike Tomlin the previous day.
“Keith has been an integral part of our defensive game planning and schemes for several years and we look forward to him moving into the role of calling the defense,” said Tomlin. “His passion and energy will be important to us taking the next steps to being one of the top defenses in the NFL.”
The Steelers fell to 18th in 2014, their lowest ranking in LeBeau’s 13 seasons – covering two terms – as their defensive coordinator.
Under the direction of LeBeau, the creator of the zone blitz defensive scheme that is now widely used throughout football, Pittsburgh finished No. 1 in total defense five times and in the top 10 11 times.
Butler has long been viewed within the organization as LeBeau’s replacement. He had declined to interview for other jobs in recent years and the Steelers blocked another team from talking to him on at least one other time.
“It’s more important for me to win Super Bowls, and I think this organization gives us the best chance to win Super Bowls,” Butler said. “The Rooneys have always been solid; they’ve always been stay-the-course people. They never do anything based on a knee-jerk reaction. I just admired the stability of the organization and the continuity of the organization. I wanted to be part of that.”
An All-America linebacker at Memphis, Butler played for 10 seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. He began coaching in 1990 at his alma mater, eventually moving on to become defensive coordinator at Arkansas State in 1998.
After one season at Arkansas State, he was hired as linebackers coach by the Cleveland Browns. In 2003, he was hired by the Steelers to replace Mike Archer as their linebackers coach.
A year later, LeBeau, who had been the Steelers’ defensive coordinator in 1995 and 1996, returned in the same capacity. Butler and LeBeau shared a room at training camp for seven years.
“Great man. Great defensive mind,” said Butler of the 77-year-old LeBeau. “Always tried to do what was right by the players on the field. Loved the players. Loved what he did. It was a great opportunity to learn from him.”
Butler said his defensive philosophy will not differ greatly from that favored by LeBeau.
“It’s not much different than most people’s philosophy would be,” said Butler, who added that the team would likely stick with its 3-4 alignment as a base defense.
“We definitely have to stop the run, we have to make offenses one-dimensional if we can, and we have to put pressure on the quarterback. If we can do those things, then we can help the offense. We have to get the ball back for the offense – that’s our main goal.”
The Steelers must now replace Butler as their linebackers coach. Joey Porter coached the outside linebackers last season, while Jerry Olsavsky worked with the inside linebackers as a defensive assistant. They could share the duties.