Jan 10, 2015 3 min read

When asked last week if 77-year-old defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau would be returning to the Steelers, head coach Mike Tomlin said he hadn’t spoken to LeBeau about it.

Apparently, that conversation has now taken place.

Saying it was a mutual parting, LeBeau told the Urbana Daily Citizen in his hometown of Urbana, Ohio, he resigned as defensive coordinator of the Steelers.

“I’m resigning the position, not retiring,” said LeBeau, who has spent 56 years as a player and coach in the NFL. “I had a great run in Pittsburgh. I’m grateful for all the things that happened to me and thankful for all of the support I had in Pittsburgh.”

The Steelers went 11-5 this season and won the AFC North championship for the first time since 2010, but LeBeau’s defense slipped from 13th in 2013 to 18th, its worst finish during his tenure with the team.

“We want to thank Dick for his many years of service with the team and all that he has done for this organization,” Tomlin said. “His coaching helped lead us to many successful seasons and championships. We are very appreciative of his efforts, and we wish him well.”

Several former Steelers reacted to the news on social media.

“What a sad day,” tweeted former Steelers defensive tackle Chris Hoke. “He was simply the best! #lovethanman”

“Really sorry to head that Coach LeBeau resigned,” former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward wrote on Facebook. “He will definitely be missed not only as a coach by as a Father figure to the players. I’m SO thankful for everything he did for me.”

Linebackers coach Keith Butler has long been considered LeBeau’s successor, and the Steelers blocked him from interviewing for a number of job offers from other teams in previous years. Butler has been with the Steelers since 2003.

Known as the creator of the zone blitz scheme widely used at nearly every level of football, LeBeau’s defenses routinely were among the best in the NFL. The Steelers led the NFL in total defense five times in his 13 seasons as defensive coordinator and ranked in the top 10 in every season but the past two.

LeBeau, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, spent two stints as an assistant coach for the Steelers. Originally Bill Cowher’s first secondary coach in 1992, he became defensive coordinator in 1995, helping the Steelers to the Super Bowl, where they lost to Dallas.

In 1997, he left to take the defensive coordinator/assistant head coach position with the Cincinnati Bengals, eventually becoming head coach there in 2000.

After being fired by the Bengals during the 2002 season, LeBeau spent one season with the Buffalo Bills before returning to the Steelers as defensive coordinator in 2004.

The Steelers appeared in four Super Bowls, winning two, with LeBeau as their defensive coordinator.

The move to replace LeBeau comes just days after the team signed offensive coordinator Todd Haley to a contract extension through 2016.