Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has told his defensive coaching staff that they won’t be making any changes to that side of the ball and he intends to bring them back for the 2018 season.
Dulac admits that it’s possible Tomlin could change his mind at some point like he has in the past. However, it sounds like Tomlin wants to give DC Keith Butler and his staff another year to see if they can get things turned around.
The Steelers are parting ways with OC Todd Haley, even though Haley’s unit was much more productive than the team’s defense this past season.
Butler, 61, has two years remaining on his current contract with the Steelers. He began his NFL coaching career with the Browns as their LBs coach in 1999 before joining the Steelers in 2003.
Pittsburgh elevated Butler to defensive coordinator in 2014 after they moved on from Dick Lebeau.
In 2017, the Steelers’ defense ranked No. 5 in yards allowed, No. 7 in points allowed, No. 10 in rushing yards allowed, and No. 5 passing yards allowed under Butler.
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