Steelers' LeBeau returning for 2011 season
-
Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau
Share with others:
Dick LeBeau spent the weekend playing golf in North Carolina, not mulling his future as defensive coordinator for the Steelers.
After all, there was no reason to focus on anything other than pars and birdies.
"I'm not coaching anywhere but here," LeBeau said Tuesday after returning from four days off before getting ready for the NFL combine that begins Feb. 23 in Indianapolis.
The Steelers want LeBeau, 72, back as their defensive coordinator and he intends to sign a new one-year deal to return as the leader of a defense that ranked No. 2 overall and No. 1 against the run in 2010.
Signing a one-year contract is nothing new for LeBeau: He has done that every year with the Steelers since returning for his second stint as defensive coordinator in '04.
And that is his choice, not the Steelers, who typically sign all their assistant coaches to two-year contracts.
But, because of his unique contract setup, and because the Steelers denied permission to the Arizona Cardinals to hire linebackers coach Keith Butler as their defensive coordinator, there was speculation LeBeau might not be returning in '11.
That, though, is not the case.
"This is the only place I will coach, so long as they want me," LeBeau said.
Butler signed a new contract after the '09 season with the understanding he would be the team's defensive coordinator when LeBeau retires.
LeBeau and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians were each told last week by coach Mike Tomlin that he wanted them to return. Arians, who was in the final year of a two-year contract, is out of town and has not signed a new contract, either.
First Published February 16, 2011 12:01 am
