muddy waters Posted January 19, 2006 Posted January 19, 2006 LeBeau similar to Bears coach By Sean Keeler, Post staff reporter Before this fall, the only time Dick LeBeau had faced off against Dick Jauron was on the golf course. ''Anytime we ever played golf,'' said Jauron, the Bears coach and former Bengals safety, ''he's won.'' But Jauron has a 1-0 edge over LeBeau on the football field since the two became head coaches in the NFL. The Bears dropped the Bengals in overtime, 16-13, on Aug. 4 at Soldier Field in the preseason opener for both teams. ''I'm a Dick Jauron fan,'' the Bengals' coach said with a grin. ''But not this week.'' LeBeau and Jauron have been good friends for almost 22 years now, and their football paths have crossed before: LeBeau was a cornerback in Detroit from 1959-72; the Lions drafted Jauron as a safety in 1973. In 1978, Jauron was waived by the Lions and signed with the Bengals. LeBeau became defensive backs coach in Cincinnati in 1980, working with Jauron for two seasons. More coals on the fire: LeBeau is a golf and history nut; Jauron majored in history at Yale. Before the two met, people who knew them both swore they were dealing with the same person. ''I've always been proud that people have associated Dick and I together,'' LeBeau said. ''Dick had come to Detroit right after I retired, and the guys up there said, 'There are similarities between you two that are very eerie.' When I had the opportunity to coach Dick down here and to understand what a fine person he is, I was very flattered that anyone would associate me with him.'' Jauron blew out his knee with the Bengals during the 1980 season. The next year, he spent most Sundays up in the booth next to LeBeau during the team's first AFC Championship season. Knowing Jauron was the son of a football coach, Bengals founder Paul Brown and future president Mike Brown asked if he'd be interested in staying on and joining Forrest Gregg's staff. He declined. ''I had been in football for as long as I could remember,'' Jauron recalled. ''I had decided it would help me to get away, just briefly. I knew I wanted to come back and always would come back.'' In 1985, he did, accepting an offer to join Hank Bullough's staff in Buffalo as secondary coach. After stops in Green Bay (1986-94) and Jacksonville (1995-98), he was appointed head coach of the Bears. Bears players have praised Jauron for the same reasons LeBeau's players have embraced him in Cincinnati. They're low-key in public, tactful with the media and, privately, competitive as all heck. Moreover, they're direct and fair, adeptly toeing the line between discipline and fun. And both are ex-players who have gotten points for treating today's players as professionals. '(Being compared to LeBeau), that's flattering to me; I don't know how flattering it is to him,'' Jauron said. ''The only thing I can tell you about Dick LeBeau is that he was the best that I played for. I really have a lot of respect for him . . . as good a coach as he was (to me), I just believe he's a better friend. I really admire the man.'' Publication date: 10-18-01
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