5:19 PM
The firing of KenNorton Jr. and defensive passing game coach, as well as the hiring of new ones, is a significant shakeup to Pete Carroll's coaching staff.
The moves were announced by the Seahawks.
For the past four seasons, the Seahawks' defense was led by the 55 year oldNorton. The 2021 season typified the mixed-bag nature of his tenure, with the Seahawks finishing fifth-worst in yards allowed and tied for 11th-best in points allowed.
For the second year in a row, Seattle's defense was gashed early before recovering with a strong finish. The year before John Schneider arrived, the year before that, the Seahawks suffered their most losses since 2009, and that was one of the reasons why Pete Carroll mentioned that trend last Monday.
"Defensively we didn't start fast enough in this season, again," said the coach. We found ourselves and put up some good numbers that indicated how we were playing after we didn't start fast enough. All of that didn't happen soon enough.
The team allowed at least 450 yards in four straight games, tying the longest streak in NFL history. The defense got on track after a shakeup at the corner position, in which D.J. Reed was moved back to the right side.
Through nine games, the 2020 team allowed the most passing yards in league history, and they did it in only eight games. The final seven weeks of the season were the most points allowed in the league.
In his end-of-season press conference last Monday, he didn't say ifNorton and Waldron would return.
"I'm not talking about that stuff," he said. A lot happens in the league to coaches on that day. We respect it differently than others. You can't really relate to the impact of this day until you're in it. Our coaches worked hard. They did a great job. I'll get with all of these guys before we leave here. I'm really proud of the work everybody has done and I feel fortunate that we are doing this together.
As an assistant secondary coach, he was in charge of safeties. He was promoted to defensive passing game coach.
The San Francisco 49ers had a former Pro Bowl player in their defense in the late 1990s. They were together at USC for 18 years, during which timeNorton coached under Carroll for 15 of the previous 18 seasons.
One question is whether or not he will hire one of his past assistants to run his defense or not. When they became Seattle's defensive coordinators, Dan Quinn, Kris Richard, andNorton all worked for Pete Carroll. The only exception was the holdover from Jim L. Mora's staff, which was the one that had been hired by Pete.
Clint Hurtt is the highest-ranking defensive assistant on the staff.
The same role that he held for the previous six seasons with the USC, as the Seahawks' linebackers coach, was brought with him by Pete Carroll to Seattle. The Raiders parted ways with their defensive coach midway through the last season. He was brought back to Seattle in the fall of 2018.
The Legion of Boom secondary transitioned away from that change. Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman were both injured in the same season. Earl Thomas broke his leg in the fourth game after he held out during the year. He left in free agency.
In four seasons underNorton, the Seahawks ranked 11th, 22nd, 15th and 11th in points allowed. They were in the middle of the pack in yards allowed.
The expectation was that the loaded pass-rush would be one of the biggest strengths of the 2021, but they finished tied for 22nd in sacks. Adams, who set the NFL sack record for a defensive back with 9.5 in 2020, didn't record a sack this past season. He was placed on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury.
During his 13-year playing career,Norton was named a first team All-Pro and made three Pro Bowls. He is the only player in the history of the league to play for three straight Super Bowl winners, and he did it for the Dallas Cowboys and the 49ers.
As a kid, KenNorton Jr. was exposed to the ups and downs of his father's boxing career, which helped him handle the scrutiny he's faced when Seattle's defense has struggled.
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