What does being able to write code have to do with physically securing a
data center? What does being able to write code have to do planning for
disaster recovery? There is more to IT security than exploits and
viruses. Business (both big and small) need professionals to interface
with the different divisions within an organization. I don't know a lot
of security professionals that can explain the mechanism used by a virus
to circumvent AV software detection. I also don't know a lot of coders
who can explain to the legal department the SOX standards for email and
IM retention. Most of my "security professional" peers operate at the
mid-to-upper management level and must provide a secured environment to
many sites throughout the country. Although some of my peers were
originally coders, only a fraction of their time now involves coding, if
at all.