NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Among the most popular questions I get from you guys isn’t about the Titans right now, it’s about the Titans long term.
How long can defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who turns 80 in September, do the job and who’s in line to replace him?
I’ve suggested linebacker coach Lou Spanos, who worked under LeBeau before they came together with the Titans could be the ultimate successor.
On The Midday 180, I asked LeBeau if he wanted to reassure fans the end is not in sight.
But he admitted it’s coming.
“You have to be realistic,” he said. “I mean, I ain’t going to do this forever, you know? I don’t want to stay too long, let’s put it that way. Who’s to say what that is? I don’t know. I’ve got a feeling I’ll know when it happens.”
He said, as many older coaches do, that being around you energetic players helps keep him young. The schedule doesn’t leave him time to think about his coaching fate beyond 2018.
But the charming, beloved coach isn’t pretending he’s not 79 –- and proudly told us about shooting a 66 on a North Carolina golf course recently, and knocking in his ninth hole in one in Kentucky with his son.
“The aging process sucks,” he said. “There is nothing you can do about that. I don’t even think about that. I hope Mike (Mularkey) doesn’t think about that too much.”
His mom lived into her 90s and his dad to 88.
“It was probably 100 in most people’s lives, he lived a very active life,” LeBeau said. “I’ve got aunts who lived close to 100. We’ve got lifespan, there is no question about that. I’m pretty careful about the poison that I put in my body, so it’s got me in pretty good (shape). But still, there is only one guy that’s got out of this stuff alive.
“So it’s waiting for all of us. Working with this young guys and getting ready for a game coming up on Sunday, you ain’t got time to think about that kind of stuff.”
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