Plenty of people associated with the NFL have been honored in cities they called home during their careers, but it’s rare to see an assistant coach get the kind of municipal honors usually associated with bigger names.
Dick LeBeau had a big impact on the Steelers, though, and Pittsburgh is honoring him this month. The Pittsburgh City Council has issued a proclamation naming February as “Dick LeBeau Month.”
LeBeau, who served two terms as the team’s defensive coordinator totaling 13 years before resigning at the end of the 2014 season, was celebrated at a Tuesday ceremony for earning the “deep and abiding admiration of the people of Pittsburgh” while serving on coaching staffs that went to four Super Bowls.
“This today, I can’t think of anything any greater than an honor from the city that you worked and loved in,” LeBeau said, via the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “Quite honestly, it’s more than I deserve.”
Longtime Steelers linebacker James Harrison and defensive end Brett Keisel were at the ceremony for their former coach, who reiterated that he plans to continue coaching and that he’s spoken to “some people” about a role for 2015.