Former Steelers OL Ramon Foster With A Glorious Christmas In July Memory About The Incredible Dick LeBeau

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been blessed with some truly exceptional coaches over the years. The Rooney family believes in loyalty and embraces the idea of "standing by their man." This means the Steelers have only had three head coaches since 1969 when Chuck Noll took over the reins, followed by Bill Cowher in 1992 and current Head Coach Mike Tomlin in 2007. There have been a plethora of assistant coaches, many of them excellent, but none more so than Hall of Famer, Dick LeBeau.

LeBeau entered the NFL after playing cornerback for Ohio State University and winning a National Championship in 1957. He was initially drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1959 but was cut in training camp before being signed by the Detroit Lions. During his 14 seasons in Detroit, he played with talents such as Dick "Night Train" Lane and against ones like Johnny Unitas.

LeBeau is considered one of the best to ever play the game in Detroit. He had 62 interceptions for 762 yards and four touchdowns. To this day, he still holds the Lions' interception record. He was tough in more ways than one, rarely suffering an injury, allowing him to play in 185 games. At one point, he even held the record for the most consecutive appearances by a cornerback at 171, but it was broken by Ronde Barber. 

When LeBeau left playing, he went into coaching immediately. He quickly made a name for himself on special teams and within a few years, was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals as a secondary coach - then the defensive coordinator. 

His incredible success led him to where he was always meant to be, Pittsburgh. LeBeau joined the Steelers in 1992 as the secondary coach. He had an immediate impact, helping players like Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake make the Pro Bowl. For this, he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1995 where he helped the team make the Super Bowl. 

LeBeau moved around the league some during those years. He returned to the Bengals and was named interim head coach. Unfortunately, his offenses did not fare as well as his defenses and he was fired. He went to Buffalo and then returned to Pittsburgh in 2004 where he would stay for a decade. During his time in Pittsburgh, he helped the team make it to three Super Bowls and win two of them. He was named "Coordinator of the Year" in 2008 by Sporting News. He finally retired at the age of 80 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player. 

LeBeau is a known innovator and is credited with revolutionizing how football would be played. He invented the "zone blitz" often referred to in Pittsburgh as "Blitzburgh" and is known for creating coverage that confused the opponent's quarterback. During his time with the Steelers, their defense was ranked in the top five an unbelievable 11 times. 

His former players remember him with nothing about admiration and respect. LeBeau not only knew how to coach these men, he knew how to mentor them. They often refer to him as a "father figure" because of the close relationships they developed. He had an uncanny knack for developing a system to bring the best out of his players but also allowed them enough autonomy so they could take advantage of opportunities they saw on the field. 

Despite Being On Offense, Ramon Foster Speaks Fondly of Dick LeBeau

One of the Steelers players during LeBeau's tenure was offensive guard, Ramon Foster. Foster may not have played directly for LeBeau, but that doesn't minimize his respect for the coach. Foster now co-hosts a podcast with Pittsburgh reporter Dejan Kovacevic. The show, which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports, is called The Ramon Foster Show. On a recent episode, Foster recounted a special memory about LeBeau. 

LeBeau was known for his recitation of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. He didn't just read a book to the players, he stood and performed it with his usual character. There is not much that seems more incongruous than a football coach, telling what is typically considered a children's story, to a group of grown men who are paid money to play a violent sport. 

Regardless, it is exactly what happened and you would be hard-pressed to find a player that bad-mouthed the tradition. Now Foster is recalling that special tradition and sharing his gratitude that LeBeau included the offense as well. 

"I heard it every year I was there. You leave out of that room feeling good and wholesome. We barely lost Christmas games. When coaches or players do stuff that unique, you don't want to let them down."

He is correct here, the Steelers hadn't played on Christmas since before any of us can remember. Then suddenly, during Foster and LeBeau's time in Pittsburgh, they land two back-to-back yuletide games and they won both. In 2016, they beat the Baltimore Ravens 31-27 to secure the AFC North title and in 2017 they ruined Christmas for the Houston Texans 34-6.

"He told the story by heart, from his mentals, he remembered it. It felt like, 'We can't let LeBeau down.' He had a real good cadence when he said it. It was beautiful."

Foster said that everyone had so much respect for LeBeau and his wisdom both about football and about life. He and Kovacevic both agree they can't think of anyone else with his kind of impact, 70+ years spent with the game of football. This places him in his own category, one that rises above the sport. LeBeau is just special.   

Had you heard before about LeBeau reciting 'Twas The Night Before Christmas? What do you think about traditions like that? What do you think it means to the players? Click to