Tag: Andre Curtis

Bears S Eddie Jackson has chance to return to playmaking ways in 2022

The Bears are giving Eddie Jackson the freedom to get back to making plays at free safety in 2022.

There was a time when Bears safety Eddie Jackson was considered among the top safeties in the NFL.

During his first two seasons, Jackson established himself as an instinctive player with a nose for the football. Jackson totaled eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, and scored five defensive touchdowns from 2017-18.

But after signing a lucrative contract extension in 2019, Jackson hasn’t recorded an interception in the last two seasons. He’s also has been subject to criticism over the last couple of years due to his tackling and effort.

With a new defensive scheme in place — and the addition of a true strong safety in rookie Jaquan Brisker — Jackson has a chance to get back to his playmaking ways in 2022.

“Some people have a special talent to get to the football and we definitely don’t want to suppress that,” said safeties coach Andre Curtis, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “So within our scheme of things and within the framework that we have and our defensive structure, just allow him some freedoms to do his job and when he sees something to go make plays. Really good guys can see the opportunities present themselves within the flow of a game and then they go make plays, you know. We definitely don’t want to coach the instincts and the play making stuff out of Eddie.”

There’s no doubt Jackson has had a couple of rough years, and the criticism has been more than fair. Especially given his massive $15.09 million cap hit in 2022.

But Jackson also hasn’t had a true strong safety since Adrian Amos departed in 2019. With the addition of Brisker, Jackson won’t have to play so much in the box and will be able to roam centerfield and make plays, which is where he thrived during his first two seasons.

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Bears hire Andre Curtis as safeties coach

The Bears have added another defensive assistant to their staff in Andre Curtis as safeties coach.

The Chicago Bears have filled out Matt Eberflus’ coaching staff, which includes an impressive list of names that are aiming to get the team back on track.

The Bears have added another defensive assistant to their coaching staff in Andre Curtis, who will serve as safeties coach. Curtis joins James Rowe, who was previously hired as defensive backs coach.

Curtis has 22 years of coaching experience, with 16 of those coming at the NFL level. Curtis has served on Pete Carroll’s staff in Seattle for the last seven years. He’s been safeties coach (2015-16), defensive backs coach (2017) and defensive passing game coordinator (2018-21).

He’s worked with the likes of Nam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Shaquill Griffin, Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs during his time in Seattle. Which is encouraging news for a Bears defense whose biggest weakness came in the defensive backfield.

Eberflus has assembled an impressive coaching staff, which includes offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, defensive coordinator Alan Williams, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, among others.

Here’s a look at how Eberflus’ coaching staff has filled out:

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Seahawks expected to consider Nick Sorensen for defensive backs coach

Seahawks expected to consider Nick Sorensen for defensive backs coach

Now that the Seattle Seahawks have fired both defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and defensive backs coach Andre Curtis, they must find suitable candidates to replace them.

While the defensive coordinator job will receive more attention, Pro Football Network reporter Aaron Wilson stated that Seattle may consider a former Seahawks secondary coach for the position.

Nick Sorensen is currently the special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but worked for the Seahawks from 2013 to 2020. He served as assistant special teams coach during his first three years, assistant defensive backs coach in 2016, and secondary coach from 2017 to 2020.

Sorensen’s future with Jacksonville is up in the air, as they had the worst record in the NFL this season and the entire coaching staff may be in for an overhaul. However, the organization will likely evaluate and reach out to multiple candidates as is standard with every coaching job in this league an sports in general. We will all see what happens soon enough.

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Pete Carroll planning for more ‘attack-minded’ defense going forward

The decision to move on from Norton could be part of a changing defensive philosphy – a more aggressive one, specifically.

The Seahawks dismissed two of their top assistants on Tuesday, including defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. While Norton has a long history and a good relationship with coach Pete Carroll, Seattle’s defense more often than not had disappointing results over the last four seasons.

The decision to move on from Norton could be part of a changing defensive philosphy – a more aggressive one, specifically. According to a report by Adam Jude at the Seattle Times, Carroll was satisfied with the shift to playing cover 2 this season to prevent explosive plays, however he’s looking for a more attack-minded plan going forward.

The Seahawks did do an excellent job of preventing explosive plays, as well as stopping their opponents in the red zone. However, they had an awful time getting off the field – partially because of their strategy.

While the two-high safety looks helped keep everything in front of them, it left them more vulnerable to quarterbacks who thrive dinking and dunking and attacking the defense underneath. Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy were just a couple of examples of QBs who took advantage in costly conference losses.

Seattle’s defensive line and associate head coach Clint Hurtt is among the early candidates to replace Norton.

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Seahawks fire defensive coaches Ken Norton Jr. and Andre Curtis

The Seattle Seahawks officially parted ways with defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis.

After an unsuccessful 2021 campaign, the Seattle Seahawks parted ways with a couple of defensive coaches on Tuesday, the first staff-trimming moves of the offseason so far.

Seattle announced it has officially relieved defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis of their duties with the Seahawks.

The moves were expected and first reported by Bob Condotta and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.

Norton began his coaching career under Pete Carroll in 2004 at USC and first joined the Seahawks staff as a linebackers coach in 2010. After five seasons in Seattle, he signed on with Oakland as the defensive coordinator for the Raiders. He held his current position with Seattle for the last four years.

Curtis started his stint in Seattle as the assistant secondary coach before he was promoted to defensive backs coach in 2017. He has been the Seahawks’ defensive passing game coordinator since 2018.

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Seahawks expected to fire two of their top defensive coaches

They also reported about a couple of potential candidates for the DC job.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider are both keeping their jobs. It’s rare for a team that underperformed the way this one did in 2021 without any coaching changes, though. Now we have news of some.

According to a report by Bob Condotta and Adam Jude at the Seattle Times, the team is expected to fire defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. as well as defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis. They also reported about a couple of potential candidates for the DC job.

“Clint Hurtt, Seattle’s assistant head coach/defensive line coach, is expected to be a candidate for a promotion as the new defensive coordinator, a source told The Times. Veteran NFL assistant Ed Donatell is also on the shortlist of candidates to replace Norton, sources told The Times.”

Norton served as Seattle’s defensive coordinator from 2018-2021. Curtis had also been in his role since the 2018 season.

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