Dick LeBeau's defenses of the 2000s are known as some of the best in Pittsburgh Steelers history, but you won't hear the long-time defensive coordinator taking credit for the defense's success. Recently, LeBeau opened up about his secret sauce that made the 2000s Steelers defense impenetrable.
On Tuesday, LeBeau joined Not Just Football With Cam Heyward. Heyward, a former player of LeBeau's late in the DC's coaching tenure, asked his old coach what made those 2000s defenses so special. LeBeau's response was on point.
"I didn't make 'A team's a family and a family's a team' just a phrase, a catch word, a slogan; we lived it," LeBeau told Heyward on Not Just Football. "We preached, collectively—the guys playing on the field and the coaches in the room—we preached that it didn't matter who made the play. It didn't matter who got the credit for the interception. It didn't matter who got the sack. It was the 11 guys working together that formed that team, which enabled some individuals to stand out on any particular play. And that became, really, our way of life."
LeBeau continued to emphasize the 'togetherness' attitude while emphasizing the selflessness of his former players.
"It was just a process of being together, and we all shared in our success," LeBeau continued. "And literally, they didn't care who got the sack... To answer your question, it was the character of the individuals, not the coaches. It was the guys who were out there on the field."
The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2000s defenses embraced the family mentality
When we talk about what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, it's everything Coach LeBeau just described. He said it best when he said, 'A team's a family and a family's a team.' That's exactly what we saw on the field.
They let the film do the talking as evidence of how much they looked out for each other. Though everyone on the 2000s Steelers defense had different contracts with varying paygrades, they clearly didn't hunt for numbers on the field.
When Troy Polamalu would dart into the backfield and blow up the fullback, he did it so that his linebackers could fill in with a clean path to the ball carrier. When Ryan Clark slid over to center field, he didn't do it in hopes of getting his hands on the football; he did it so that Polamalu would have the flexibility to feel out the play and make something happen. The examples are endless.
The Pittsburgh Steelers obviously had some remarkable talents on defense. We don't want to take away from the Defensive Player of the Year seasons Polamalu or James Harrison earned, but Dick LeBeau hit it on the head: this team embraced the family mentality, and everyone was better for it.