Charles Richard LeBeau (/ləˈboʊ/ lə-BOH; born September 9, 1937) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) He was active at field level in the NFL for 59 consecutive seasons, 14 playing as a cornerback with the Detroit Lions and 45 as a coach.
He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 1959 NFL draft before signing with the Lions, where he was named to three Pro Bowls.
After leaving the Steelers for the second time in 2014, LeBeau served as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Tennessee Titans until 2017.
He is third all-time for most seasons played (14) and previously held the NFL record for consecutive appearances by a cornerback with 171, which has since been broken by Ronde Barber.
In 1976, LeBeau coached the secondary for the Green Bay Packers under Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr.
In his first season, Willie Buchanon, Johnnie Gray, Steve Luke, and Perry Smith combined for 10 interceptions.
Their line was anchored by defensive ends Ross Browner and Eddie Edwards, who were effective at stopping the run.
The Bengals played in their first AFC Championship Game, defeating San Diego 27–7, limiting the Chargers' offense to only 7 points.
The team won the AFC Central Division with a 12–4 record but lost Super Bowl XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers for the second time in franchise history.
In 1994, four defensive players were called to play in the 1995 Pro Bowl (Kevin Greene, Carnell Lake, Greg Lloyd and Rod Woodson).
They did allow 327 points in 1995 as opposed to 234 the year before when the Steelers defense was coordinated by Dom Capers, but they got to the Super Bowl in 1995 with a much-improved offense.
The secondary was led by Pro Bowl defensive backs Carnell Lake and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson.
In 1999 the zone blitz scheme began to take hold and although the Bengals defense allowed 460 points, they improved to 25th in the NFL (out of 31 teams).
Shortly after being fired by the Bengals, LeBeau was named the Buffalo Bills's assistant head coach.
[11] A month after resigning from the Steelers, LeBeau was hired as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
[12] On January 20, 2016, LeBeau was officially named assistant head coach/defensive coordinator of the Titans after the departure of Ray Horton to the Cleveland Browns.
"[13] On January 22, 2018, it was reported that LeBeau was considering retirement after not being retained after head coach Mike Mularkey and the Tennessee Titans agreed to part ways and Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel was hired as the new head coach.
We were just looking for ways to get pressure without exposing our defensive backs to have to cover the whole field all of the time.As an assistant coach, LeBeau is credited with inventing the "Fire Zone" or "zone blitz" defense, which employs unpredictable pass rushes and pass coverage from various players.
Since zone blitzes don't identify any of the prospective rushers, the offense may be unsure on each play of which defenders will rush the passer and which will drop into coverage.
LeBeau acted in the 1970 film Too Late the Hero, where he played Michael Caine's double in a scene.
LeBeau attended the American Legion Ohio Buckeye Boys State program in 1954 as a delegate.