What Generation Gap?

I follow football - not fanatically - but as a casual viewer. Of course, I watched the Super Bowl yesterday. It was a very good game, but what fascinated me was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 71-year old defensive coach, Dick LeBeau. At his age, he is coaching players who are 50 years younger!

He was a player for 14 years - he retired in 1971- and has been a coach for 35 years - 49 years in the football business.

With all the comments about the four generations trying to work together, I was fascinated to learn how he connected with his players.

When asked, those young guys said they looked at Coach LeBeau as a father figure. In the clips showing him talking to the players, it's on a very personal level.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who at 36 years old is only a little more than half LeBeau's age, doesn't necessarily feel coaching is a young man's game.

"I think relationships with players are personality things, not age things," Tomlin said. "People who have a way with people and can communicate with people, teach people and convey messages, they can do it at 35, 45, 55 or even 71. Such is the case with Dick LeBeau. I think it's a personality thing and not an age thing."

From the New York Times

Among the biggest tributes are the private ones. Defensive end Aaron Smith claimed that knowing LeBeau has made him not only a better player, but also a better man. Defensive end Brett Keisel said playing for LeBeau made him love the game more than he ever thought possible.

“We genuinely come to work and think, I can’t wait to hear what he’s got to say and where we’re going to go next,” Keisel said.

Always smiling. Always glad to see you. Always interested in you. Always asks after your family. Never in a hurry. If Dick LeBeau has detractors, no one seems to know who they are. Asked if he has ever seen anyone disrespect LeBeau, Smith said: “I don’t think anybody would be crazy enough to do that. We’d take care of them. I don’t think they would make it out alive.”

That's definitely the way to bridge the generation gap!