Dick LeBeau is out as defensive coordinator. Call it a resignation by force, a firing, a peaceful parting of the ways, anything you want, but the bottom line is a legend is leaving the organization.
Maybe it was time to go and maybe it wasn’t. No one can discount how instrumental LeBeau was in winning the last two championships, and when he was given the proper defensive talent to coach, he looked like a genius.
All the speculation was on which coaches were going to be kept following the loss to the Ravens, but where are the queries on whether Kevin Colbert’s job is safe? After all, isn’t he the man responsible for the terrible dud trio of Mike Mitchell, Cam Thomas and Cortez Allen?
Funny how LeBeau doesn’t look as good with Mitchell, Thomas, Allen and the rest of the over-the-hill gang the Steelers front office decided to employ this year. When you have to sign James Harrison out of retirement and try to get more mileage out of Brett Kiesel because Thomas proved he’s the worst defensive lineman in football, someone dropped the ball somewhere.
You know, you can only do so much with what you are given, and I thought the defense started to show strong signs of improvement over the second half of the year. No, they were hardly world beaters, but you were starting to see them make some big plays to help the team win.
Why is LeBeau falling on grenades for Colbert? I get that Colbert helped build the core of the two latest Super Bowl winners for the Steelers, but that last title came in 2008. Since then it’s been a steady plunge towards ineptitude. For a team that relies heavily on the draft to develop their talent, there’s been too many misses lately.
Jarvis Jones looks like a strong washout candidate, Shamarko Thomas can’t stay healthy, Dri Archer was not needed. Landry Jones never should have made the final 53-man roster this year, but I’m convinced his continued employment on this team is just a stubborn refusal to admit how wrong the organization was about him. They just hoped and prayed it wouldn’t come down to using him on a regular basis.
It’s not just who they’ve taken and seen fizzle out, but also who they haven’t. I still don’t understand why this team has stubbornly refused to address what has been a glaring need for this team for almost a decade, and that’s secondary help. They haven’t invested a pick higher than the third round since the 2005 draft when they took Bryant McFadden in the second round. For a league that has clearly favored passing attacks for a while now, it’s imperative you stop the other team’s aerial assault.
By ignoring this area in the draft for well over a decade, the Steelers have slowly eroded their pass defense to the point where we saw so many big plays against them. They gave up 16 scoring plays of 15 yards of more this year alone. Blame it on coaching if you want, but I think it’s more of a talent issue.
Last I checked, player personnel is Colbert’s job, not LeBeau’s. Whether or not you’ve won Super Bowls in the past doesn’t excuse you from the sad reality of poor talent decisions you’ve made recently. Colbert has this team mired in a talent deficit and it’s going to take a while to climb back out.
Troy Polamalu may have played his last down as a Steeler. Hard to imagine Ike Taylor, Kiesel and most likely Harrison coming back either and yet who will be their replacements? Where’s the young heir apparents who are more than ready to step in? They’re not here because Colbert has failed in his responsibilities.
If Colbert’s job is safe for now, they better at least be turning up the thermostat in his office a little bit and expressing the need for improvement. If the talent doesn’t begin to improve again, it won’t matter who is serving as head coach or as offensive/defensive coordinators.
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