Dick LeBeau?

[TTThunder]

Will he be an improvement over our current DC?

Go Bolts!!!

[Yubaking]

Dick LeBeau is arguably the best DC in the NFL and has been for years. But he is 77 years old.

Honestly, Pagano arguably did the best job of any of our coaches in the 2014 season. He only had two above average front seven players with which to work and he did a nice job with the talent he had.

I think we would be better served by looking at upgrading the OC position.

[6025]

While I respect LeBeau's work as a DC, he is 77. I like Stinky's idea (in the NFL news thread) about having him come in as an advisor but he's probably looking for another DC gig. He'll be 80 in three years, he should retire, he would not be a long term solution as anybody's DC.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Thanks!

[Steve]

Lebeau has put off retirement from the Steelers several times, so I can't see him switching teams. Plus, the Chargers don't seem to mind Pagano's D, or they would have gotten rid of him by now.

[oneinchpunch]

Lebeau has put off retirement from the Steelers several times, so I can't see him switching teams. Plus, the Chargers don't seem to mind Pagano's D, or they would have gotten rid of him by now.

He left the Steelers today

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Age is a factor, but he's very creative and gets a lot of mileage out of his talent. If he's interested in coaching, you create a role for him. When he's 80, you worry about him being 80. But for now, leverage the opportunity, even if it means tossing out Pags. I would say that if he were brought in as DC, you make it a point to have an assistant on staff that you target as his understudy.

That said, 100-1.

[RobH]

The guy certainly doesn't look 77. But even still, the hours are long and hard. But if they could work out some kind of arrangement where he and Pagano share the duties, and if Pagano would be comfortable doing it, then yeah, it would be great to have him on staff.

[Steve]

He left the Steelers today

I know he left Sat, but he was close to retiring each of the last 2 or 3 years. It just didn't make the national news like hi final retirement did.

The other thing that I don't think most people realize is that the Blitzburgh flavor of 34 is totally different from the 34 we play. The gap concepts, the terminology, the blitzes are all very different. It means reteaching the whole D from the beginning, which would seem like a waste now. Particularly for a guy who is clearly year to year.

[floydefisher]

Unfortunately, the Spanos family likes Pagano.

Whatever the family says, goes.

[SDFan]

pretty sure we had Arsparger as an Defensive advisor when he was in his 70's a few decades ago? Having said that, if LeBeau has any interest in that I would think he would fill that role for the Steelers at some point and they have probably already chosen someone he trained to carry on their schemes.

Even though they lost yesterday, I'm still impressed with Baltimore's aggressive defense. THAT is what I want for the Chargers- and I'd be fine clearing house on the defensive staff and rebuilding the roster to fit as needed. I don't think we're ever going to see a dramatic improvement in a Pags defense no matter how many players we bring in- it is what it is- mediocre. The fact they won't replace Don Johnson after multiple years off underachieving/no development DLs tells me its time to blow it up and start over fresh instead of tweaking it every year.

[Steve]

Arnsparger talked Ross into hiring him. Ross initially contacted him to get a recommendation, and Arnsparger was the LSU Athletic Director wanted out of being an administrator, so recommended himself. But part of the deal in the versions I have heard was that he had to agree to at least a couple of years, or the organization wasn't going to go for it. Even after Arnsparger left, he didn't completely quit coaching, as he coached with his son at Cornell, and did some consulting with a couple of NFL teams for several more years at least.

AS far as Pagano's D goes, you can't be missing the most important pieces (OLB) and still expect the D to be awesome. Again, when was the last time we had 2 decent OLB who lined up for any length of time? Phillips and Merriman was the last time we were all really satisfied, and that was back when we had an outside pass rush. The major problem since then has been our putrid 3rd down D, and that isn't going to change until we get some outside pass rushers who can pressure on 3rd downs.