Arthur Moats: “Of course Butler coached under LeBeau and was molded by him. From a situational standpoint though they could be different, LeBeau would have 40-50 playcalls a game and if you didn’t know them you didn’t play. Butler would adjust more. Sometimes players couldn’t keep up and he’d have as little as 10 playcalls a game.”
Clark Haggans: “Coach Butler – we called him Butts – his meeting room was always down to work. He had a lot of, let’s just say colorful characters like Deebo, Joey, Foote, Kendrell Bell. He used to tell us we’d be the death of him. He was always stressed out. We would tease him about when he played in Seattle – make fun of him about guys running him over when he played. We didn’t even know if that really happened. He also liked to brag a lot about his golf game.
He wasn’t always about football though – sometimes he’d just give us common sense lessons about life. It wasn’t just about football, and that helped me. I needed days like that. And he’d have those expressions – “I need dogs that will hunt!” Joey had his too – he always said he was “6’3″, 250 pounds, I’m the prototype linebacker. They made me in a factory!” Like he was Robocop!”
Arnold Harrison: “Coach Butler was a great coach – his style was that you either get it or not, and if not you won’t be here long.”
Clint Kriewaldt: “Coach Butler is a former player and was an outstanding Linebacker Coach. When I came to Pittsburgh a 3-4 defense was brand new to me. I had never played that type of defense before. Coach Butler did a great job of explaining and making it easy to understand.”
Scout/Coach Stephen Meyer: “Butler was a great guy – he was easy to work for and an intelligent guy. In my eyes we did some good there and had some things rolling, but we had some injuries and things didn’t work out like we hoped in the end.”
Joey Porter: “Butler, Tomlin, LeBeau – I played for all of them except Tomlin. I was able to play for them and watch them and then as a coach to see better how they got people ready.”
Clark Haggans: “We once tried to set up Butts. We were playing Seattle in Seattle. Me and Larry checked in and had a couple of hours before our next meeting. We called Butts’ room and told him we were Sports Illustrated and wanted to interview him on his time in Seattle – about guys like Steve Largent that he played with. We told him he needed to meet us in the lobby. He got all excited. But somebody dimed us out – he caught on to us. We wanted to make him late for the meeting, but when we got to the meeting he said “Ha ha. Very funny. You’re trying to get me fired!”
After the Super Bowl win in Detroit he went to his hotel room with his wife – I think they got ice cream sundaes. They just wanted to celebrate with a quiet night in the hotel. Well, we were walking around with the robes and cigars. Farrior got the linebackers and knocked on his door. He said it was 3 am – it was more like a cool 1:30 am! He was mad about that. I told him I’d tell his wife that it wasn’t right how he treated us. I liked to tease him about that. That he beat us with rulers when we watched film. He told us she’d never believe it – but he always gave us that look when his family was around. you know – that “You better not!” look.
He also used to joke and threaten me with this Karate punch – said he’d chop my throat and put me down. I mean, come on, he didn’t know Karate. Guy was from Alabama. Come on.”
Donovan Woods: “Keith Butler did an excellent job of preparing us so we never went into games without being prepared.”
Former Steelers Security Guard Zach Kenly: “Keith Butler was the linebackers coach then and one day he locked his keys in his car. Me and another guard waited with him for a couple of hours while they got it opened. I just remember a lot of “Dag gums” in that Southern accent of his. And some guys gave him some fun grief as they walked by of course.”
Dedrick Roper: “Coach Butler and LeBeau had a very similar approach to the game. They had very relaxed demeanors, explained the strategy to you, were available to answer any questions and trusted you to get the job done.”
Earl Holmes: “Butler played the game – you could relate to him.”
Rian Wallace: “Butler let his meeting rooms go with constant humor. We’d tell Laffy Taffy jokes before each meeting. Our linebacker corps was the funniest part of the team.
We also used to invite other teammates into the meeting room and have our disco club – we’d flick the lights on and off and dance. If I were a coach, I do what Coach Butler did. It’s great to help the players relax and enjoy their job too.”