Rarely do you hear Dick LeBeau talk without mentioning one of his favorite player's he ever coached. The former long-time Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator continually gushes over Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu... and for obvious reasons. But this time, he gave Polamalu's counterpart, Ryan Clark, some much-deserved praise.
LeBeau recently joined Not Just Football with Cam Heyward when Heyward asked his former DC for some Polamalu stories. However, instead of going down a rabbit hole of the greatest Polamalu plays and sharing some memorable moments together, LeBeau immediately swung the attention to Clark.
"In order for Troy [Polamalu] to have the freedom to do some of the things that we let him do, we had to have a heck of a safety playing beside him, and they could communicate one to the other—whether they did it telepathically or not," LeBeau explained. "Because I watched and listened, and I could never see them moving their mouth or anything."
The former Steelers coach continued to give Clark his props.
"Every now and then, [Polamalu] would go the wrong way, and Ryan [Clark] would be right where Troy was supposed to be and protect us," LeBeau continued. "They were tremendous, the two of them."
Dick LeBeau knew it took 11 guys to make the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense elite
Dick LeBeau's comments were hardly an indictment against Troy Polamalu. LeBeau has not been shy in expressing love for the Pittsburgh Steelers' legendary safety. Rather, LeBeau wanted to emphasize that the Steelers' remarkable 2008 defense—and their strong defenses of the 2000s—only worked because all eleven guys on the field were willing to put their bodies on the line for each other.
Before praising Ryan Clark for what he did in the shadows of Polamalu, LeBeau ranted and raved about how selfless his players were on that legendary 2008 defense—a unit that allowed just 14.9 points per game (2nd in the NFL) and a mere 246.8 yards per game (1st in the league).
LeBeau noted that it was never about which player got the sack or the interception. Rather, the mentality was that when one player made the play, they all made the play.
Don't mistake this for the Steelers not having elite defensive talent. LeBeau coached two Defensive Player of the Year recipients in Polamalu and James Harrison. But it was about the talent in combination with the selflessness and unrelenting attitude that made this unit so good.
Ryan Clark only made one Pro Bowl in his 13-year NFL career, and it came at the age of 32 in 2011, late in his eight-year stint with the Steelers. However, Dick LeBeau wanted to make sure Clark's efforts finally get recognized.