Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker coach Keith Butler has been patiently waiting.
That wait has paid off as Butler was announced today as the Steelers new defensive coordinator, replacing Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau, who resigned shortly after the regular season ended.
Butler has been long thought of to be LeBeau’s future replacement. Now it is officially Butler’s time.
The Steelers have thought very highly of Butler for some time now as they reportedly would have blocked him from interviewing for other jobs around the league, most recently with the Tennessee Titans when Butler was rumored to be at the top of Ken Whisenhunt’s wish list.
Butler has been the Steelers linebacker coach since 2003 and has been around some great Steelers’ defense during that span.
However, he not only has some big shoes to fill after the departure of LeBeau, but also has his work cut out for him.
Since last reaching the Super Bowl after the 2010 regular season, the Steelers have been on a steady decline of getting to the quarterback. They recorded only 35 sacks during the 2011 campaign, 37 in 2012, 34 in 2013 and bottomed out this season by only reaching the quarterback a mere 33 times.
The defense as a whole has been on a decline as well. After finishing only ranked No. 13 in the NFL in total defense last season, the Steelers finished only at No. 18 this past season.
The departure of LeBeau, almost ensures that veterans James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel won’t be back with the franchise next season, which depending on your point of view could be a positive for Butler as he can start to build his defense with his own guys. The cupboard is close to being bare for Butler, which means he will have to start building his own unit from the ground up.
As a player, Butler was an All-American inside linebacker at the University of Memphis in the mid-1970s, He then went on to a 10-year pro career with Seattle. He finished with 813 tackles, which still ranks second on the Seahawks’ all-time list.
As for Butler’s new job, sometimes you don’t want to be the guy that replaces a legend, but instead be the guy who replaces the guy that replaced the legend.
We will begin to find out soon if Butler is the exception to that rule.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
