An ESPN report says that Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's contract expires after the season, and that he could end up with the Cardinals. I'll believe it when I see it - check out this article and see if it makes sense to you.
↵↵↵If LeBeau doesn't retire or return to the Steelers, he may land in Arizona. The Cardinals boast former Steelers assistants Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm and currently have an opening at defensive coordinator after firing Billy Davis ...
↵When asked about his future plans Friday, LeBeau remained focused on the AFC championship.
↵"We still have some defense to play. If somebody wants me to work, I think maybe we can still get them in and out of the huddle a couple times. But I am not looking too far down the road. As a friend once said, 'We're not buying any green bananas, baby, '" LeBeau told USA Today.
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So ... the 73-year-old LeBeau would leave a great job in Pittsburgh where he has a fantastic reputation and great talent, in order to take the same job for a mediocre franchise with a terrible defense? That doesn't add up, and it might be easier to do so if this article presented any evidence beyond the Cardinals' not hiring a defensive coordinator. LeBeau and the Steelers are way too good a match. (LeBeau himself seems to acknowledge this - in a recent article in USA Today, he gave his players credit for his success.) The Steelers will undoubtedly pay to keep him.
↵If LeBeau were to retire, that would at least make sense, but he's still very full of life, and I've seen no real indication that LeBeau plans to call it quits. Him going to the Cardinals makes no sense at all, and I wouldn't worry about it, at least not until we have some concrete reason to.
↵Hey, remember before the season, when there was speculation that the Steelers might let Mike Tomlin go at the end of the year, just because they hadn't extended his contract? This LeBeau stuff looks just about as silly now as the Tomlin stuff did then. Who knows what will happen, but I bet it's much ado about nothing.