Keith Butler retiring after seven seasons as Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive coordinator

5:39 PM

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Saturday evening that defensive couthing coach,Keith Butler, is retiring.

"It is an emotional day as I announce I am retiring from my football coaching career," he said. After a successful career both playing and coaching the game I love, the time is right for me to walk away.

After 12 seasons as the linebackers coach, Dick LeBeau gave up his position as defensive coordinator for the sake of safety, and was replaced by Butler.

The Cleveland Browns' and PittsburghSteelers' head coaches worked together on the Memphis defensive staff in 1996.

He played for the Seattle Seahawks for 10 years before becoming a coach.

The organization has a tradition of a dominant pass rush. The team has led the league in sacks each year. T.J. Watt tied Michael Strahan's 2001 NFL single-season sack record with 22.5, as the Steelers paced everyone with 55 team sacks.

The defense took a step back in 2021, and often struggled against the run. The group gave up 2,483 rushing yards and 5 yards per carry.

Teryl Austin, who was hired by the organization in January, is one of the options to replace Butler. Austin was the defensive coach for the Detroit Lions from 2014 to '17 and for a season with the Cincinnati Bengal in the fall of 2018).