Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

**sd steel** · 02-02-2011, 09:30 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Read an artcle yesterday that quoted Butler as saying, "I have anonther year on my contract", "I have nothing in my current contract that states I will be the DC of the Steelers when DL retires" and when asked why he plans on staying with the Steelers he said, "Because they pay me alot of money as a position coach".

**Mister Pittsburgh** · 02-02-2011, 09:38 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

If he happens to bolt.....who is his replacement? How about Jerry O.

**Chadman** · 02-03-2011, 01:00 AM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Stay or go, the result of where Butler coaches next season will have little to do with the Steelers success.

**SanAntonioSteelerFan** · 02-03-2011, 01:08 AM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

After we humiliate Capers' D, maybe he will want to take the "Steelers DC in waiting" position!

**steelblood** · 02-03-2011, 08:02 AM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

A lot of folks are worried about losing Butler. But, I'm pissed that he didn't leave already. We could have had Kevin Greene!

**Oviedo** · 02-03-2011, 09:13 AM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Originally posted by steelblood

A lot of folks are worried about losing Butler. But, I'm pissed that he didn't leave already. We could have had Kevin Greene!

Keeping Butler is importnat because it obviously has been part of a long term plan not short term convenience. LeBeau will not coach forever and the front office obviously wants someone who is intimately familiar with the defense to be ready to step in so there is no drop off. That is why IT IS importnat that Butler stays because he coaches the most important position group in our defense and he has been working closely with LeBeau for years.

IMO it will be a big mistake not to keep Butler which is why I hope we win, LeBeau steps aside into a consultant role and we make Butler the DC.

Other than the ego trip from being called a DC I really can't see why Butler would want to go to Arizona. Plus factor in how secure is Whisenhunt as the head coach out there after the season he just had and how he totally mismanaged the QB situation for the Cardinals. They won't be able to fix the QB situation anytime soon and they have serious issues on both sides of the football. Once Fitzgerald starts to breakdown, they are toast.

**steelblood** · 02-03-2011, 09:57 AM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Originally posted by Oviedo

Originally posted by steelblood

A lot of folks are worried about losing Butler. But, I'm pissed that he didn't leave already. We could have had Kevin Greene!

Keeping Butler is importnat because it obviously has been part of a long term plan not short term convenience. LeBeau will not coach forever and the front office obviously wants someone who is intimately familiar with the defense to be ready to step in so there is no drop off. That is why IT IS importnat that Butler stays because he coaches the most important position group in our defense and he has been working closely with LeBeau for years.

IMO it will be a big mistake not to keep Butler which is why I hope we win, LeBeau steps aside into a consultant role and we make Butler the DC.

Other than the ego trip from being called a DC I really can't see why Butler would want to go to Arizona. Plus factor in how secure is Whisenhunt as the head coach out there after the season he just had and how he totally mismanaged the QB situation for the Cardinals. They won't be able to fix the QB situation anytime soon and they have serious issues on both sides of the football. Once Fitzgerald starts to breakdown, they are toast.

Just because he is part of the long term plan doesn't mean it is crucial to keep him. He is a well respected coach no doubt. But, there is no guarantee that he will have success as a DC. There is no evidence that he is good at designing new blitzes and packages. I think a DC that has had success against the spread offenses or understands how to slow them down better might work out well for us. Also, if he goes to Arizona, he could be out of a job by the time we need him. And, he'll have had his chance to get his feet wet as a DC.

**aggiebones** · 02-03-2011, 04:21 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Arizona is a scary place to run to.
Whiz may be on borrowed time. Even if its not his fault that they have no QB on the roster and let too many top D guys get away, he will ultimately be accountable for it. I fully expect to see him as OC in Cinn, Clev or Baltimore in the next 2 years.

**SteelTorch** · 02-03-2011, 04:48 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Big surprise here. All Wiz has done since joining Arizona is try to build a team off of ex-Steelers.

I'm surprised he didn't go after S'tonio. :P

**Oviedo** · 02-03-2011, 05:21 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Originally posted by SteelTorch

Big surprise here. All Wiz has done since joining Arizona is try to build a team off of ex-Steelers.

I'm surprised he didn't go after S'tonio. :P

Wait until this off season and he probably will. Whis has been sowing the seeds of his own destruction. Kurt Warner created an illusion of improvement that came crashing down last season.

Like you said, why would Butler want to be a crewmember on a sinking ship?

**RuthlessBurgher** · 02-03-2011, 05:29 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Originally posted by SteelTorch

Big surprise here. All Wiz has done since joining Arizona is try to build a team off of ex-Steelers.

I'm surprised he didn't go after S'tonio. :P

The other team that seems to collect ex-Steelers? Green Bay.

Dom Capers, Tom Clements, Darren Perry, Kevin Greene, John Kuhn, Anthony Smith. Their head coach never worked for the Steelers, but he is a Pittsburgh kid whose first real coaching job was at Pitt.

**sd steel** · 02-03-2011, 07:17 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Taken from the article from [url="http://www.AZcentral.com"]http://www.AZcentral.com[/url]

Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler

"How would I characterize it? (relationship with Whisenhunt). He is a sorry sucker. No, Ken's a great guy. We've known each other for a long time. That doesn't mean he wouldn't fire me. That doesn't mean I wouldn't fire him if I was in his shoes, either. He's a good friend of mine and has for a long time."

I asked Butler if that answer assumed Whisenhunt would hire him.

"Uh, I wouldn't assume that. Kenny's got to do what he's got to do. I don't want him to do anything that takes away from him being a great head coach in Arizona. I'm under contract with the Steelers. I'm not sure they'll let me go. There is no clause in my contract that says I'm the coordinator in waiting. I've read that a couple times; I am not.

"But at the same token, I signed a contract last year and have another year left. The Rooneys did something they normally don't do with assistant coaches."

What did they do?

"They gave me a lot of money."

**SanAntonioSteelerFan** · 02-03-2011, 08:36 PM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Originally posted by RuthlessBurgher

Originally posted by SteelTorch

Big surprise here. All Wiz has done since joining Arizona is try to build a team off of ex-Steelers.

I'm surprised he didn't go after S'tonio. :P

The other team that seems to collect ex-Steelers? Green Bay.

Dom Capers, Tom Clements, Darren Perry, Kevin Greene, John Kuhn, Anthony Smith. Their head coach never worked for the Steelers, but he is a Pittsburgh kid whose first real coaching job was at Pitt.

... a.k.a., "Kill Switch"??

**hawaiiansteel** · 02-04-2011, 03:05 AM

Re: Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Linebackers coach likely to stay put

by Aaron Wilson
FEBRUARY 01, 2011

Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler is unlikely to leave the AFC North franchise.

Although often linked to the Arizona Cardinals' defensive coordinator vacancy, Butler told the Arizona Republic that he's very happy in Pittsburgh and doesn't think the Steelers would grant Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt permission to interview him.

Per the report, the Rooney family paid Butler "a lot of money" to remain in Pittsburgh last season.

Butler did point out that there's no clause in his contract that guarantees him coordinator in waiting status in Pittsburgh behind legendary defensive coordinator D!ck LeBeau.

If Butler remains in Pittsburgh long enough for LeBeau to retire, he's likely to be promoted as his eventual replacement.

[url="http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Keith-Butler-content-with-Steelers.html"]http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Kei ... elers.html[/url]

Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

Cardinals will attempt to sign Steelers LB coach Butler

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