Is this the end of the road for Dick LeBeau?
The storied defensive coordinator will not to return with the Titans next season, a source told Jason Wolf of The Tennessean.
The 80-year-old LeBeau was informed Monday that he would not be invited to join the staff of newly minted head coach Mike Vrabel, hired over the weekend to replace the departed Mike Mularkey.
According to Wolf, a second source told the newspaper last week that LeBeau would "be comfortable retiring if it [didn't] work out in Tennessee."
If so, the NFL waves farewell to one of its finest figures. With a career spanning 59 years as a Hall of Fame player and coach, LeBeau still ranks 10th all-time in interceptions following a stellar 14-year run as a defensive back with the Lions.
Beginning his coaching career in 1973, LeBeau served as a long-time coordinator with the Bengals (1984-1999) before taking over as Cincinnati's head coach from 2000-2002. From there, he won a pair of Super Bowls as Pittsburgh's masterful defensive play-caller (2004-2014) before spending the past three seasons with Tennessee.
As the innovator of the "zone blitz" defense, LeBeau has authored some of the league's nastiest and unpredictable schemes. Quarterbacks won't miss him, but if this is truly the end, LeBeau's stamp on the game is enduring.
