Coaches

Keith Butler is in his ninth year on the Steelers’ coaching staff after joining the staff prior to the 2003 season. He remained on staff following Mike Tomlin’s hiring in January, 2007.

Butler and Tomlin previously worked together at Memphis in 1996, where Butler was the linebackers/defensive ends/special teams coach and Tomlin served as the Tigers’ defensive backs coach.

Butler was named the Steelers’ linebackers coach Jan. 28, 2003, after serving the previous four seasons in a similar capacity with the Cleveland Browns (1999-02).

Butler has been instrumental in the development of the Steelers’ highly touted linebacking corps which includes three Pro Bowl players, James Farrior, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. In 2008 Butler was named NFL Linebacker Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly.

Under Butler’s tutelage, Farrior, a second-team All-Pro in 2008, has led the Steelers’ defense in tackles for seven straight seasons (2003-09). In 2010 Farrior had 137 tackles, second-best on the team, marking his eighth straight season with 100-plus tackles for the Steelers. It was linebacker Lawrence Timmons in his second season as a starter who exploded onto the scene in 2010 and led the team with 149 tackles (100 solo) and also had three sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Butler has also helped groom Harrison into one of the league’s elite performers. Harrison, 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has earned two team MVP awards, recorded a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII, the longest play in Super Bowl history and earned his fourth straight selection to the Pro Bowl in 2010. Harrison had a team-high 10.5 sacks in 2010 after posting 10 in 2009. Harrison currently holds the team record for sacks in a season when in 2008 he recorded a career-high 16 sacks. In addition, Harrison ranks second in team history for career forced fumbles with 24, behind only Greg Lloyd.

The Steelers have a tradition of fielding some of the best pass-rushing linebackers in the NFL and Harrison and Woodley have accounted for two of the top four sack totals by a Steelers’ duo in team history. The two teamed up in 2008 to produce the most sacks in a single-season by a duo in Steelers’ history with a combined 27.5 sacks. Then in 2009 they totaled a combined 23.5 sacks between them and again in 2010 combined for 20.5 sacks.

The linebacker unit as a whole was a key reason behind the 2010 Steelers finishing the regular season first overall in total defense, sacks and against the run, and second against the pass.

Woodley has been a force defensively since he became a starter in 2008. Woodley owns an NFL record for posting two sacks in each of his four postseason games and has 39 sacks in his first four seasons with the Steelers, which ranks as the best start in franchise history. In 2010 Woodley posted his first career interception for a touchdown and finished with 10 sacks, becoming the second player in team history behind Harrison to post at least 10 sacks in three straight years.

In 2006, Butler’s linebacking crew helped the Steelers rank second in the AFC and third in the NFL in rushing defense. The unit allowed just 88.3 rushing yards per game and helped the defense to not allow a 100-yard rusher the entire season.

In 2005, Butler’s linebackers helped the Steelers lead the AFC and rank fourth in the NFL in total defense. The sack tandem of Joey Porter (10.5) and Clark Haggans (9.0) ranked as the best for a linebacker duo in the entire NFL.

Prior to joining the Browns’ staff, Butler spent nine years coaching in the college ranks, beginning his coaching career at his alma mater, Memphis, where he coached linebackers from 1990-97 and also coached defensive ends and special teams (1995-97). He then served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Arkansas State in 1998.

Butler, 54, was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 1978 NFL Draft and played linebacker for 10 seasons (1978-87) with Seattle. He started 132-of-146 games in his career and still ranks second on the club’s all-time tackles list with 813. A three-year starter at inside linebacker for Memphis, Butler led the school in tackles his junior and senior seasons. He finished his collegiate career with 384 tackles and seven interceptions. He was named a 1977 Associated Press All-American and played in the 1977 Senior Bowl and Blue-Gray All-Star Game.

Butler was born in Anniston, Ala. He and his wife Janet have three sons—Blake (28), Brandon (26) and Brett (24).