DETROIT - Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has learned from the best.
Make that the very best.
The 68-year-old LeBeau is in his 47th season in the NFL - 14 as a player and 33 as a coach.
He has rubbed elbows with many of the game's greats through the years.
LeBeau was born 25 minutes from Columbus in London, Ohio, and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes at Ohio State. LeBeau was a two-way starter on the Buckeyes' national championship team in 1957.
He was drafted in the fifth round by Hall of Famer Paul Brown's Cleveland team in 1959. LeBeau was cut by the Browns in training camp and hooked on with the Detroit Lions.
He played in 171 consecutive games at cornerback for the Lions - an NFL record for the position - and finished with 62 career interceptions and three Pro Bowl appearances.
Hall of Famer Don Shula was LeBeau's defensive coordinator in his early years in Motown. LeBeau also played in the same secondary with Hall of Famers Dick "Night Train" Lane and Yale Lary, and later with Lem Barney.
And then LeBeau worked on Hall of Famer Bart Starr's coaching staff with the Green Bay Packers.
"I haven't changed a bit over the years," LeBeau said. "I have tried to learn from all these people and have tried to dissect what makes them so successful. What is it that made them better teachers, better communicators?"
LeBeau also has had coaching stops in Philadelphia, Buffalo and Cincinnati, where he had two different stints, including a disastrous 12-33 record in 2 1/2 seasons as Bengals head coach from 2000-2002.
This also happens to be his second tour of duty in Pittsburgh.
He is an original member of Bill Cowher's coaching staff, serving as the secondary coach in 1992. Former Houston Texans coach Dom Capers was Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator at the time, and Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis was the team's linebackers coach.
Three years later, in 1995, LeBeau was promoted to defensive coordinator and helped lead the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27-17.
In those days, the Steelers' defense was known as "Blitzburgh," and included players such as future Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake, Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene.
LeBeau rejoined the Steelers in 2004 after Tim Lewis was fired.
LeBeau is generally credited with designing the zone-blitz scheme that has been copied throughout the NFL.
He is the first guy who discovered how to disrupt the ever popular West Coast offense.
LeBeau's pass-rushing blueprint calls for aggressiveness and risk-taking - the same two traits he displayed as a player.
In order to avoid predictability in Pittsburgh's base 3-4 defense, he uses linebackers and defensive backs to apply pressure from various angles.
The Steelers will nickel-and-dime you to death, using five or six defensive backs.
There's no reason to believe that will change Sunday when the Steelers and Seattle Seahawks tangle in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.
LeBeau is one of the NFL's top defensive gurus.
"I think all the players, to a man, have a great respect for him," Cowher said.
Pittsburgh's current crop doesn't exactly invoke memories of the Steel Curtain defense - Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount - but it is super stingy.
The secondary, led by Pro Bowl strong safety Troy Polamalu, has been solid in the postseason when it comes to shutting down talented receivers.
In the Steelers' wild-card win at Cincinnati, they limited Chad Johnson to four catches for 59 yards.
In the divisional match-up at Indianapolis, they held Marvin Harrison to three receptions for 52 yards. And in the AFC championship game in Denver, Rod Smith managed just four catches for 61 yards.
Pittsburgh, which has produced 12 sacks in the postseason, is led by its linebackers.
Loud-mouth Joey Porter has 10 1/2 sacks for the season and Clark Haggans nine. Former Michigan star Larry Foote leads the team with 123 tackles, and James Farrior is second with 114.
LeBeau's defense is built on productivity and reliability.
"We call him the wizard around here," cornerback Ike Taylor said.
The wizard would like nothing better than to get his first Super Bowl win as an assistant coach.
LeBeau is 0-3 to date, including two previous appearances with the Bengals and one with the Steelers.
First Published January 29, 2006, 7:52 a.m.
