Polamalu announces LeBeau as Hall of Fame presenter taken on the South Side (Steelers)

AP

Troy Polamalu and Dick LeBeau.

The Steelers of the 2000s are teaming up again this summer to celebrate their achievements. After Alan Faneca chose Hines Ward as his presenter back in April, the questions still remained for who would present the other Steelers for their ceremonies.

One of those questions was answered Wednesday morning when Troy Polamalu officially announced Dick LeBeau as his presenter for his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony:

The decision comes as no surprise, as Polamalu hinted on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that his former defensive coordinator would be his presenter:

There may have been no more appropriate of a choice by Polamalu, as I argued with my Wednesday morning Talking Point. Even though Bill Cowher is getting inducted this summer with Polamalu, he was only his head coach for four years, whereas LeBeau was his coordinator for 11 of Polamalu's 12 NFL seasons.

The two were at the center of the Steelers' defensive dominance from 2004-2012, where in a span of nine seasons the Steelers ranked as the NFL's top scoring defense four times and the top defense in yards allowed five times.

LeBeau crafted zone blitz schemes that brought pressure and shut down opposing run games regularly, but knowing he had an X-factor player like Polamalu working behind those schemes made all the difference.

“Yeah, I guided him, all right," LeBeau said of Polamalu on Sirius XM NFL in 2020. "I stayed the h*** out of his way … Troy had the ability to go from point A to point B probably as quickly as any man I’ve ever seen … he confused offenses. He had great anticipation. I think he’s the best safety that’s ever played, that’s my opinion. Of course, it is biased. Troy is one in a million – as a player, as a person.”

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