Dick LeBeau Speaker Profile

Dick LeBeau was born September 9, 1937 in London, Ohio and is a former football player and is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator. He spent 14 years in the NFL as a player with the Detroit Lions and is in his 36th as a coach. Considered an -€œinnovator-€ and -€œdefensive football genius-€, LeBeau created the -€˜zone blitz-€™ when he was defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in the late 1980s.

He started his coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles as a special teams coach under coach Mike McCormack, he spent 3 seasons in Philadelphia. In 1976, LeBeau coached the defensive backs for the Green Bay Packers under Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr, in his first season Willie Buchanon, Johnnie Gray, Steve Luke and Steve Perry combined for 10 interceptions. In 1980, he became the Cincinnati Bengals defensive backfield coach.

In 1981, Cincinnati had an outstanding defense that had not given up more than 30 points in any of their regular season or playoff games. Their line was anchored by defensive ends Ross Browner and Eddie Edwards, who did a great job stopping the run. Cincinnati's defense was also led by defensive backs Louis Breeden and Ken Riley, and Linebackers Bo Harris, Jim LeClair, and Reggie Williams, who intercepted four passes and recovered three fumbles. Bengals intercepted 19 passes for 318 yards and also recorded 41 total sacks. The Bengals played in their first AFC Championship Game defeating San Diego 27-€“7, limited a San Diego offense - which featured three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: quarterback Dan Fouts, receiver Charlie Joiner, and tight end Kellen Winslow; the offense also featured two superb running backs, Chuck Muncie, who led the NFL with 19 touchdowns, and multi-talented rookie James Brooks - to only 7 points at Riverfront Stadium in a temperature of nine degrees below zero with a wind-chill factor of minus 59. In Super Bowl XVI, the Bengals trailed 20-€“0 at halftime and lost to San Francisco, 26-€“21. Even though he was only the secondary coach, he had a great influence on the Bengals overall defense.

In 1984 LeBeau was promoted to be the Bengals defensive coordinator. He did very well, rarely allowing over 30 points in a game to an opponent. In 1984, his first season as defensive coordinator, the Bengals dropped from the top ranked defense in 1983 (when they coordinated by Hank Bullough) to 13th in 1984 and allowed only 339 points all season. In 1985 they dropped from 13th to 22nd but Dick LeBeau's zone blitz scheme was doing very well. The next season, 1986, improved cutting points allowed to 394 and finishing as the 20th ranked defense in the NFL. In 1987 they did even better, cutting the points allowed to 370.

In 1988, the Bengals defense ranked 17th in the league, allowing 5,556 yards and 329 points during the regular season. Cincinnati had a superb defensive line, led by pro bowl defensive tackle Tim Krumrie, along with linemen Jim Skow (9.5 sacks), David Grant (5 sacks), and Jason Buck (6 sacks). Pro Bowl defensive backs Eric Thomas and David Fulcher (the world's biggest free safety) combined for 12 interceptions. The team ended up winning the AFC Central Division with a 12-€“4 record. Bengals lost Super Bowl XXIII against San Francisco 49ers for the second time in franchise history. The following season, 1989, the Bengals defense was 15th in the NFL, an improvement of 2 spots and were in the top half of NFL defenses due to LeBeau's scheme. In 1990 and 1991 the Bengals defense ranked 25th and 28th of 28 teams and the Bengals made a change in defensive coordinators.

LeBeau was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 as the secondary coach. In 1994, 4 defensive players were called to play in the 1995 Pro Bowl (Kevin Greene, Carnell Lake, Greg Lloyd and Rod Woodson). As a secondary coach Lake and Woodson were heavily influenced by LeBeau.

In 1995 LeBeau was promoted to be the defensive coordinator and the 1995 Pittsburgh defense ranked third in the league in total yards allowed after they had finished as the second ranked defense in 1994 in that same category, so the drop off was minimal with LeBeau at the helm. They did allow 327 points in 1995 as opposed to 234 the year before when the Steelers defense was coordinated by Dom Capers, but they got to the Super Bowl in 1995 with a much improved offense. Pro Bowl linebacker Kevin Greene led the team with 9 sacks, while Pro Bowl linebacker Greg Lloyd led the team with 86 tackles. The secondary was led by Pro Bowl defensive backs Carnell Lake and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. Steelers lost against Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, making it the third Super Bowl lost for him.

In 1997 LeBeau took a lateral move as defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals and did wonders. The Bengals defense was 25th in 1996 and in his first year back with the Bengals they only dropped to 28th and allowed just over 400 points. In 1998 they didn't drop at all, remaining 28th in the NFL (of 30 teams) and allowed 452 points. In 1999 the zone blitz scheme began to take hold and although the Bengals defense allowed 460 points, they dropped to 25th on the NFL (out of now 31 teams) an improvement of 3 spots.

LeBeau was rewarded with the the head coach position of the Cincinnati Bengals for three seasons, from 2000 through 2002. In those years the Bengals' zone blitz scheme was becoming more dominants. In 2000 the Bengals defense improved and got to 22nd in the NFL. In 2001 they allowed only 309 points and in 2002 they were ranked 17th in the NFL, although they did allow slightly more points (456).

In 2003 LeBeau was an assistant with the Buffalo Bills. LeBeau then went back to the Steelers in 2004.

On February 6th, 2010, LeBeau was selected into the 2010 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Dick LeBeau Booking Agent Contact

Football stars such as a Dick LeBeau have taken the game to new heights by excelling at their respective position. The booking agents at AthletePromotions can assist with Dick LeBeau speaking engagements or appearances from NFL stars. We have years of experience in booking gridiron greats for keynote speeches and autograph signings. Hiring a football speaker like Dick LeBeau is not a hard process. Our agents can provide availability, fees and all costs associated in bringing out a successful football star to your next corporate event.  We can find Dick LeBeau’s agent to make this booking happen.  A Dick LeBeau appearance will add energy to your upcoming event and reward employees, customers and clients. Most likely, football fans and corporations can find Dick LeBeau's official website, charity involvement, Twitter account, representation, publicist and management info at www.Dick LeBeau.com.

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