New Steelers DC Keith Butler Gives Pittsburgh the Stability It Always Craves

As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Tuesday that Keith Butler, the team's linebackers coach since 2003, would be the team's new defensive coordinator. He replaces Dick LeBeau, who resigned Saturday after holding the position since 2004.

The switch from LeBeau to Butler should be a seamless one. Butler has worked under LeBeau for all but one year of his Steelers' tenure, overseeing the linebackers so integral to LeBeau's defensive scheme.

As head coach Mike Tomlin (via Steelers.com) said about the move, "Keith has been an integral part of our defensive game-planning and schemes for several years and we look forward to him moving into the role of calling the defense."

The move was not surprising. The Steelers have long tried to retain Butler, preventing him from seeking outside opportunities in lieu of eventually succeeding LeBeau.

But now Butler has a big task ahead of him: turning around a Steelers defense that hasn't been as productive as it was during LeBeau's best years, when Pittsburgh was near the top of the league in yards and points allowed and regularly had around 50 sacks.

In 2014, Pittsburgh's defense ranked 17th in total yards allowed, at 350.2. It ranked fifth in rushing yards allowed per game, but 25th in passing yards allowed, at 253.1. It also ranked 21st in opponent average points per game, at 23.4, and gave up touchdowns on 54.72 percent of opponents' red-zone appearances. It totaled 33 sacks in 2014, along with just 11 interceptions.

Stat	Value	Rank
Opp. YPG	350.2	17th
Opp. Rush YPG	97.1	5th
Opp. Pass YPG	253.1	25th
Opp. PPG	23.4	21st
Opp. RZ TD %	54.72%	19th
Total Sacks	33.0	26th
INTs	11	T-25th

Butler will have to embrace youth to turn the defense around. It's looking less and less likely that veterans Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Brett Keisel and James Harrison will return. All are on the wrong side of 30 years old, with Taylor and Harrison both unrestricted free agents. Outside linebacker Jason Worilds is also an unrestricted free agent, like linebacker Arthur Moats and cornerback Antwon Blake.

The Steelers had no choice but to infuse youth into their defensive lineup in 2014. Age, injury and a lack of depth meant that players with far less experience than is typical for the Steelers got significant playing time.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), rookie defensive end Stephon Tuitt played 405 snaps, rookie nose tackle Daniel McCullers played 65 and rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier played 260.

Second-year linebacker Jarvis Jones, who missed part of the season with a wrist injury, played 237 snaps. And 2012 draft pick Sean Spence, seeing his first significant on-field action since a massive knee injury in his rookie year, played 510 snaps.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

It's possible these young players will be joined by a completely revamped secondary and new faces in the front seven. With this much transition on the defensive side of the ball, which has been relatively stable during Butler's time in Pittsburgh, having scheme continuity will be one way that the Steelers can better endure it.

Butler isn't LeBeau, however, and not every aspect of LeBeau's defense will be retained—especially not with a defensive-minded head coach like Mike Tomlin. Tomlin's experience with a 4-3 defense will likely inform Butler's system. That doesn't mean a wholesale transition from the typical Steelers' 3-4 base to a 4-3, though, since teams are veering away from having base defenses that, well, basic.

Butler said this in an interview Tuesday with Steelers.com's Bob Labriola:

"

With what offenses are doing nowadays in the National Football League, they're playing a lot of three wide receivers and a tight end and a running back, for the most part. In those situations, we're going to be in kind of a 4-3 anyway, but we're still going to be able to run the 3-4 also. It gives you a little bit more versatility, I think.

"

He added, "We will run the 3-4, but we will run some 4-3 also, in our sub-package."

Sub packages, namely the nickel defense (five defensive backs), have become the de facto base defense around the NFL, with passing being the primary method of offensive production. Expect that to continue and expand in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers won't have a Polamalu in his prime to blitz quarterbacks or the league's most fearsome outside linebacker tandem. Adjustments under Butler will be necessary, just as they would have been had LeBeau not resigned. And they time up well with the Steelers needing, most desperately, to revamp the secondary.

But, even with personnel changes looming, Butler's promotion means that there will at least be stability in the Steelers' coaching ranks. Trust has already been long established between Tomlin and Butler, as well as between Butler and the Steelers players.

While there will be a period of adjustment, it will not be as drastic as it would have had the Steelers chosen to look outside of the organization for LeBeau's replacement.