Former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees is once again retiring from the NFL, leaving his post as the defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.
The team announced the move on Monday morning, which marks the end of the 73-year-old’s incredible coaching career.
On top of being the defensive coordinators in Atlanta and Tennessee, Pees called the defenses of the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. He also coached at the collegiate level.
Pees spent two seasons with the Titans before his initial retirement. He oversaw the 2019 defense that helped lead Tennessee to the AFC Championship Game.
After sitting out all of 2020, Pees returned to the sideline in 2021 to take the defensive coordinator job under Arthur Smith, the former Titans offensive coordinator who went to be the head coach of the Falcons.
“You appreciate all the work and the sacrifice,” Smith said of Pees. “We all get paid to do this and we’re lucky as hell, but there are sacrifices you have to make. Dean’s a guy who has coached at every level and had success. He has impacted a lot of lives and he has impacted the game.”
Under Pees, the Falcons finished with the No. 29 scoring defense in 2021, and then saw a slight improvement to No. 23 in 2022.
We wish Pees, who is a great coach and man, all the best in retirement.
