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Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings
Friday, February 5, 2010 3:10 AM
By Bob Hunter
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Dick LeBeau is a finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time, and insiders believe the London, Ohio, native has a lot of support. LeBeau, who played at Ohio State, was coach of the Bengals and is currently in his second stint as the Steelers' defensive coordinator, is one of two Senior Committee nominees (former Broncos running back Floyd Little is the other) and will have a presenter make his case to the rest of the Hall voters.

Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News will make the case, which must be based solely on LeBeau's contributions as a player. The case is strong: LeBeau, who played for the Detroit Lions from 1959-72, was second on the NFL's career interception list (62) when he retired and still stands seventh. LeBeau and the other finalists need 80 percent of the vote Saturday to get in........

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/spo...ml?sid=101

Ex-Bengals coach Dick LeBeau could be voted into Hall of Fame Saturday

By Joe Reedy • jreedy@enquirer.com • February 5, 2010


The Associated Press/David Kohl
Dick LeBeau was fired as Bengals head coach after a 2-14 season in 2002. He's had much greater success as a player and defensive coordinator

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s wait to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame could end today.

The former Bengals defensive coordinator and head coach, who played 14 seasons at cornerback for the Detroit Lions, is one of two senior nominees for the Class of 2010, which will be elected Saturday.

LeBeau’s 62 interceptions remain a Detroit record and are tied for eighth all-time in league history. If elected, he would be the fourth with ties to the Bengals to enter the Hall – joining Paul Brown, Anthony Munoz and Charlie Joiner.

As a senior nominee, LeBeau’s decision will go to a straight vote of whether he gets in or not. He needs 80 percent of the votes from the 44-person Board of Selectors to be elected.

First-year finalists Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice are virtual locks to be elected. Former UK standout and Pittsburgh center Dermontti Dawson is a finalist again while there has been a lot of sentiment toward the candidacy of former St. Louis and San Diego head coach Don Coryell.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100...+for+Hall?

I'm too old to remember him as a player. But going by stats alone, 8th all-time in INT's is a huge accomplishment. Factor in his defensive coordinator stats (which don't factor into the voting), he has had a huge impact on the NFL.

They need to change the rules and allow other coaches, other than head coaches, to be voted in. His defensive schemes have changed the NFL.

LeBeau elected to Hall of Fame
Posted by jreedy
February 6th, 2010, 6:01 pm

The 33-year wait for Dick LeBeau to become a Hall of Famer ended on Saturday when the former Bengals head coach and defensive coordinator was elected as a senior nominee.

He is the fourth player or coach with some type of ties to the Bengals to be elected to Canton. The others are Paul Brown, Anthony Munoz and Charlie Joiner. LeBeau needed an 80 percent positive vote from the 44-person selection committee to be elected.

LeBeau, currently the Steelers defensive coordinator, had two coaching stints with the Bengals (1980-91 and 1997-2002). He is considered the creator of the zone blitz, which he created in the late 80s as the Bengals defensive coordinator. He replaced Bruce Coslet as head coach after three games in 2000 and had a 12-33 record.

None of LeBeau’s coaching credentials were supposed to be considered by the 45-man selection committee. But his 14 seasons with the Lions established a pretty convincing resume even though he was never a modern era finalist.

LeBeau’s 62 interceptions remains a Detroit team record. Of those picks, seven apiece were against Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr. He attended Ohio State and was drafted by the Browns in 1959 before being released. He then was picked up by Detroit and the rest is history. Last year LeBeau was also inducted into Ohio State’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

All five Modern Era finalists and both senior nominees were elected.

Headlining the Class of 2010 will be Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice, who are the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and receiver. Also elected were Russ Grimm, Floyd Little, Rickey Jackson and John Randle.

Former Ohio State standout Cris Carter was knocked out in the first round of cuts, when the list was reduced from 15 to 10. On the next round, former UK standout Dermontti Dawson was eliminated.

The 2010 inductions will be on Aug. 7 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/bengals/2010...l-of-fame/