Pittsburgh Steelers Weak Safety Blitz vs. the 49ers
Pittsburgh Steelers Weak Safety Blitz vs. the 49ers
The Steelers' Mike Tomlin's first job in the NFL was working with the legendary Dick LeBeau, who is known for his creation of the modern Fire Zone blitz and a tendency to blitz his Safeties.
To understand the Steelers' defense, you must know the history of Mike Tomlin, the longest-tenured NFL Head Coach, now that Bill Belichick isn’t stalking the sidelines of Foxboro. Pittsburgh hired Tomlin in 2007 at 34, and he is only the third Steelers Head Coach since 1969. Talk about a stable organization.
Tomlin got his start in the NFL in ‘99 under legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and worked with him until 2000. Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin, Head Coach and defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers, respectively, would hire Tomlin to work with their secondary. Tomlin would stay in Tampa until ‘06, when he joined the Minnesota Vikings and Head Coach Brad Childress as their DC. The Steelers would tab the young coach to lead their organization after the retirement of Bill Cowher, who the Steelers also hired at the age of 34 to replace a Hall of Fame coach.
The structure of the Steelers’ defense is a reflection of Tomlin’s resume as a defensive coach. Under LeBeau, Tomlin learned the contemporary use of Fire Zones from the man who modernized them and unleashed them on NFL QBs. Though Bill Arnsparger is known as the godfather of the ‘safe blitz’ or Fire Zone, it is LeBeau who developed an extensive playbook around their use. One of the main additions to the rudimentary scheme of Arnsparger’s replacement pressures was to add DBs into the mix.
Dungy and Kiffin were Tampa 2 gurus who introduced the young coach to the ‘new’ contemporary defense of the early 2000s. Kiffin also had a penchant for running Cover 1 at volume, along with his Tampa 2 calls. The concept has come full circle as coaches like Dan Quinn pair their Cover 1-heavy schemes with Tampa 2 calls.
Interestingly enough, Tampa 2 defenses are mainly run from a 4-3, which is not a feature of Tomlin’s defense. The use of Tampa 2 as a ‘change-up’ call to his closed post-defense is a trait that stems from his time in Tampa Bay. Even Tomlin’s Tampa contemporaries in Lovie Smith (Texans ‘21-’22) and Matt Eberflus (Bears) only use Tampa 2 as a change-up to a close post-dominant scheme. Smith and Eberflus still prefer the four-down alignment, whereas Tomlin pivoted to the 3-4.
LeBeau would become Tomlin’s first DC and stay until 2014. Kieth Butler, who had been with the Steelers since ‘03 under Cowher, would ascend to the role until he retired in ‘21. The current DC, Teryl Austin, has a much more diverse background, having worked in the Ravens organization from ‘11-’13, then as a coordinator for the Lions (‘14-’17) and the Bengals (‘18) before his move to Pittsburgh.
Though the Steelers have one of the higher Blitz Rates in the NFL (5th/35.8%), it is mainly due to their five-man front. Under Kieth Butler, his ‘Dog Rush’ concept was used to attack opposing offense protections with an assortment of games up front. Behind the front are mainly closed-post coverages, with the NFL’s third highest rate of Cover 3.
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