Steelers Now
A former NFL head coach believes one of the Pittsburgh Steelers retired linebackers will continue rising the coaching ranks.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Larry Foote has been immersed in the coaching world ever since he decided to hang up his cleats following the 2014 season, and former NFL head coach Bruce Arians believes he’s on the right path to becoming the leader of one of the league’s 32 teams in due time.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Arians said of Foote eventually becoming and NFL head coach on Pewter Report. “Larry’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever coached. He was a linebacker for me in Arizona after Pittsburgh, and I hired him full-time as a linebacker coach the next year. He didn’t need any training. He was already coaching the guys on the field all the time anyway. Bright, bright guy.”
Foote, 46, was promoted to run game coordinator & outside linebackers coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. Before then, he served as the team’s pass game coordinator and inside linebackers since 2022. He first joined the Bucs in 2019 under Arians, winning a third Super Bowl ring in 2021.
Foote played inside linebacker during his 13-year NFL career, 11 of which were with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the club drafted him out of Michigan in the fourth round of the 2002 draft.
Arians believes Foote was one of the Steelers most underrated players during the span.
“If you go back to Pittsburgh and see that Super Bowl team, there’s not anybody more respected than Larry Foote,” Arians continued. “I think [Foote’s] on the right path to be a head coach.”
Foote became a starer for the first time in 2004 and was an integral part of the team’s defense for Super Bowl XL and XLIII victories. He spent one season in Detroit in 2009, but returned to the Steelers in 2010 for another four seasons. He finished his career with Arizona in 2014.
In total, Foote played in 187 games, starting 134, and made 818 tackles, recorded 25 sacks, recovered nine fumbles and caught four interceptions in his NFL career. All but 29 of those games came with the Steelers.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Ex-NFL HC Confident Former Steelers LB Will Follow in His Steps
