For the better part of the past decade—or, perhaps, even the entirety of the past decade—the man who has born the primary responsibility of actually calling the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense on game days has fallen, by his own personal choice, upon the shoulders of head coach Mike Tomlin.
A defensive coordinator himself by background, it had long been reported, though without hard sourcing, that he often called many or all of the plays, but earlier this year, outgoing defensive coordinator Keith Butler confirmed that Tomlin wore that role throughout his tenure—and even into the late stages of Dick LeBeau’s time in Pittsburgh.