CINCINNATI -- Is Dick LeBeau, father of the zone blitz and one of the most soft-spoken members of the coaching staff, a get-tough, kick-them-in-the-pants type who can reverse the fortunes of the Bengals?

"He's a tough guy," said Marvin Lewis, defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens and one of dozens of LeBeau disciples. "Don't let his demeanor fool you.

	Dick LeBeau replaced Bruce Coslet as Bengals head coach Monday.

"There's a reason he looks so young (at age 63). He doesn't waste time on things he can't control."

LeBeau said he did not accept the job so the team can continue its losing ways.

"There will be some changes," said LeBeau, who became the Bengals' eighth coach when he replaced Bruce Coslet. "I was a player for 14 years (and) a coach in this league for 28 years. ... I think I have some ideas. We're in the process of formulating those specifically; we're not exactly delineating what those (changes) will be.

"We think we have quality young players here and we think we can do it."

The defensive coordinator under Coslet over the last three seasons, LeBeau said that linebackers coach Mark Duffner will assist him with the defense. Offensive coordinator Ken Anderson will call the plays, LeBeau said.

LeBeau didn't anticipate major changes in offensive strategy but would look at all aspects of the system. Execution, he said, has been lacking.

"Hopefully what happened to us Sunday (a 37-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens) will not happen to us again and you'll begin to see a much more competitive performance," he said. "We think we can win and win on a regular basis with these people."

Baltimore's Lewis doesn't think his mentor will waste a second with the Bengals. The two worked together on the staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers under Bill Cowher from 1992 to 1995. Lewis coached the linebackers; LeBeau was the Steelers' secondary coach in 1992-94 and defensive coordinator in 1995, the season the Steelers rolled all the way to Super Bowl XXX.

LeBeau was beloved in the Pittsburgh locker room for selected nuggets of wisdom, both on football and on life. An avid reader and history buff, LeBeau would regale the Steelers with quotes from famous generals such as McClelland and Eisenhower to make a point. He told stories of players such as Bears linebacker Dick Butkus and running back Gale Sayers, recalled former Bengals defensive back Solomon Wilcots, who played for LeBeau in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

LeBeau even read passages and poems to the team on occasion, including a rendition of Ogden Nash's "The Night Before Christmas," in the locker room right before a Yuletide Pittsburgh tilt.

But some of the more important things to Lewis had nothing to do with pressuring the quarterback or mixing up coverages.

"He is, first and foremost, a teacher," Lewis said.

LeBeau in particular loved one-on-one tutelage with Steeler defensive backs, something Lewis said he hopes LeBeau will continue now that he's a head coach.

LeBeau's next challenge, said former Bengals coach Sam Wyche, is gaining the trust of the offense. Few offensive players have dealt directly with LeBeau.

"Since he's got the respect of the defense, it won't be long before the offense gives him the same respect," said Wyche, who was head coach during LeBeau's first stint as Bengals defensive coordinator, 1984-91.

The Bengals, the NFL's worst team of the past decade, haven't had a winning season since 1990 and have gone 10 years without a postseason appearance, the longest current streak in the league. But Bengals president Mike Brown called LeBeau, "the most knowledgeable and experienced football person on our staff."

"It's appropriate he take over in this difficult situation," Brown said. "He understands we are in a difficult situation, but our staff is behind him and he's eager to get at it. He can step in and take our situation and get it back on course as quickly as anybody could. It isn't going to be an easy challenge, but he has the confidence of the Brown family and the players as well."