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Sunday, January 29, 2012

If Butler leaves, who replaces him

It appears that Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler is going to take the job as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts under new head coach Chuck Pagano.

Butler is expected to be in Indianapolis on Tuesday to finalize things, leaving the Steelers another opening on their coaching staff.

This one, however, will be pretty easy to fill. Former Steelers linebacker Jerry Olsavsky, who is already on staff, will be the no-brainer replacement.

As a player, Olsavsky always got the most out of his talent by knowing the defense inside and out and being technically sound. Those traits will make him a great linebackers coach and possible future replacement for Dick LeBeau.

It is interesting to note that Pagano, who had been Baltimore's defensive coordinator, will now have Bruce Arians coordinating his offense and Butler coordinating his defense.

Adding to the irony of the situation is that Mike Tomlin was seen at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel meeting with former Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell, who was replaced by Pagano.

Caldwell presumably was interviewing for the Steelers offensive coordinator position vacated when Arians was fired/retired last week.

31 comments:

Whackman said...

Lots of coaching staff intrigue… Great because I am not ready for football to end…
Promoting Olsavsky would be good… definitely don’t see a need to bring in someone from the outside.

Offensive Coaching holes are less clear. Could Caldwell be a possibility to fill-in for Kirby Wilson or QB coach if Fichtner is promoted to OC?

If Fichtner is not promoted, is there the possibility he leaves for HC at Memphis?

Anonymous said...

yeah, I'd much prefer Caldwell at QB coach and fichtner as OC

adamg said...

Olsavsky might have the inside track, but what about Tom Bradley? His brother is already the team doctor and the Rooney seem to think highly of the family.

Tim said...

Is Caldwell really a step up from Arians? Does anyone even know what he really did as OC for Peyton Manning's Colts?

bruinmann77 said...

i am thinking that if Jerry O is the man then that fine.

Patrick said...

I like Ben's probowl interview. On BA's replacement: "We'll see what the Rooneys want to do"

Is this not proof that Tomlin is nothing more than a figure head?

Pistol said...

Dale,

I thought Butler was waiting to take over when Lebeau retired???

Is this an indicator of unrest in the steelers coaching staff with Tomlin??

Is he still bitter they took Worilds over Lee?? I am.

bruinmann77 said...

Well Rooney is the owner who writes the checks. He has all the rights to do what he wants and Ben is a employee of Mr Rooney.
it still curious what the steelers have planned for the OC. it just might mean they are waiting for the end of the SB to make an announcement.

Dale Lolley said...

No, it's just a sign that LeBeau isn't going to retire anytime soon. This staff is close. There are no problems on the staff.

If Fictner is not promoted, he could leave. Don't know for sure.

Whackman said...

Ha, if anything Tomlin is waiting for approval from Rooney... I am sure he doesn't want to announce the wrong story to the media... again...

Anonymous said...

Guess it's interesting that Indy's new HC is raiding the Steeler staff and not his former Balt guys.

bruinmann77 said...

Could they be targeting anyone from the Remaining teams in the SB. I think rather see a college coach instead of caldwell. I am shocked that Lebeau will coach beyond next season

Anonymous said...

Whew! No Caldwell!

Anonymous said...

recent develops with the steelers are definitely an indicator of how much clout tomlin currently has with the organization. make no mistake about it, he is not one of the decision makers.

however, he has only been around 5 years. i wonder how much pull cowher or noll had after their 5th year as well?

Anonymous said...

We should hire Jay Paterno

adamg said...

IMHO, Tomlin came into a tough situation as a rookie coach inheriting an established QB who had just been given a big $ contract for a lot of years by ownership. Tomlin's a confident guy, but I think he might have been/still is inclined to defer when it comes to BR.

I really do wonder if when Tomlin was hired there wasn't some sort of understanding that when it came to all things BR, the ownership would handle those situations. Because Tomlin doesn't act the same way with any other player (see phasing out of well-respected vets like Farrior and Ward).

Anonymous said...

tomlin has to feel powerless by #7's comments though. #7 is basically saying, i don't answer to the coach, i answer to the owner. not the relationship you want to have, imo. and a very good example of why they need a strong OC to put #7 in line when needed. or, rooney needs to make it clear to #7 that he answers to tomlin first. the head coach must be the BMOC.

i don't really care who they hire, as long as they have a more flexible offensive game plan and better play calling.

bobttown said...

Can any one say Tom Bradley, who I am sure knows more than Olsavsky

kelly said...

I don’t think Ben wanting to have a meeting with Mr. Rooney necessarily means Tomlin has little or no say in these types of decisions. Maybe he’s not bypassing Tomlin because he’s powerless, but because Mr. Rooney was the one responsible for letting Arians go and he is obviously not happy about the offence overall. Therefore Ben wants to have a conversation and here it straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were.

Tim said...

Patrick, figurehead? Rooney is the boss, and a good one. They will decide on one together, but it will be the Rooneys' decision. That's how it goes.

Patrick said...

Dale,

Do you think ARII will bring in a new long-kicking kicker coach over the figure head coach MT?

Patrick

Anonymous said...

Tom Bradley???

Ha, go back and watch his D vs. Houston in the Ticket City Bowl. No thanks.

Anonymous said...

Dale,

How does BA leaving affect Rashard Mendenhall? I've always believed that the "powers that be" with the Steelers weren't in love with him, but BA protected him a bit. Do you think the Steelers will eventually move on from him when his contract is up?

Anonymous said...

You can get a good running back just about anywhere. They only last 3 or 4 really good years anyway, even the good ones. It's too bad he hasn't been a bigger part of the passing game the last 3 years.

Robert K said...

Butler agrees to stay with Steelers.

Dale Lolley said...

They are not going to give up on Mendenhall

Anonymous said...

They should. The WRs should have a higher priority when contract time comes. It's nothing against Mendenhall, just the state of RBs in today's NFL.

Anonymous said...

does butler staying signal this is the last year for lebeau?

i'm guessing the steelers bring in an outsider for OC. maybe that assistant from green bay?

Henigin said...

I think I'm glad Butler is staying... As a fan it's just difficult to evaluate the performance of a position coach. The team has had great LBs for a long time but it's impossible to know how much of that has to do with him and how much of it is just great talent scouting (Alonzo Jackson excepted). So I'm assuming that if the Steelers have tried so hard to keep him, he's very good and will hopefully be an excellent DC for them sometime soon.

TarheelFlyer said...

I expect that Butler staying is either related to a promotion or a promise that DL is going out after next year. Maybe Tomlin didn't want 2 new coordinators this year.

When it comes to OC, I still want Hue Jackson, but I haven't even heard him mentioned...not sure why. Anyway, I expect Fichtner gets promoted and we bring in another QB coach. Right now I like Alex Van Pelt for that. If not, leave Fichtner where he is and give me Jackson.

adamg said...

Tommy Clements, if he does not get the open OC slot in GB, would be a good choice. He's already coached here in the recent past and is familiar with BR and the offense. Kind of a compromise candidate between the advocates of "new" and those of "hire from within".