Tag: Ken Norton Jr.

Ken Norton Jr. leaves UCLA for Commanders position

Ken Norton Jr. leaves UCLA for the Washington Commanders LBs coaching job.

The UCLA Bruins football program hired DeShaun Foster as its new head coach on Monday. On that same day, Ken Norton Jr. left for a linebackers coach job with the Washington Commanders, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. 

Norton has a lot of experience, including some time with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks, so a return to the NFL isn’t a surprise. Norton also spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders and spent last year coaching the linebackers at UCLA.

Norton was also linked as a potential internal candidate for the UCLA coaching search, but Foster got the job, much to the approval of fans and players.

The Commanders recently hired Dan Quinn as the head coach, and Chip Kelly’s name floated around as an OC candidate before they hired Kliff Kingsbury.

Norton becomes the first coach to leave following the hire of Foster, and it will be interesting to see if others do the same.

Commanders hire Ken Norton Jr. as linebacker coach

A three-time Super Bowl champion as a player, Norton has been an NFL defensive coordinator for seven seasons.

Dan Quinn has found his linebackers coach. Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Washington Commanders are hiring former Pro Bowl linebacker and veteran NFL assistant Ken Norton Jr. as their new linebackers coach.

Norton, 57, enjoyed a 13-year playing career that ended in 2000. He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994, where he played the remainder of his career.

Norton was a part of three Super Bowl champions, was a three-time Pro Bowl selection, a one-time first-team All-Pro and a one-time second-team All-Pro selection. Norton played 191 games with 188 starts, finishing with 1,272 tackles.

Norton began his coaching career with the USC Trojans in 2004 as the linebackers coach and won a national championship.

Here’s a look at each stop of Norton’s coaching career:

  • USC Trojans (2004-08): Linebackers coach
  • USC Trojans (2009): Assistant head coach & linebackers coach
  • Seattle Seahawks (2010-14): Linebackers coach
  • Oakland Raiders (2015-17): Defensive coordinator
  • Seattle Seahawks (2018-21): Defensive coordinator
  • UCLA Bruins (2022-23): Linebackers coach

Norton, the son of former World Champion boxer Ken Norton, played collegiately at UCLA and, in addition to winning three Super Bowls as a player, won one as an assistant with the Seahawks.

Norton’s addition follows John Pagano’s hiring as a senior defensive assistant, giving new defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. several experienced voices on defense.

The Commanders have yet to officially hire a defensive line coach and secondary coach.

UCLA coaching search: Ken Norton Jr. could be good internal candidate

UCA assistant Ken Norton Jr. is one name to consider amid the coaching search.

The UCLA Bruins can go in a lot of different directions with this head coaching search. One internal candidate is linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., who was a successful NFL linebacker and also spent time as an assistant on Pete Carroll’s staff with the Seattle Seahawks.

Norton’s name isn’t one that has been mentioned much so far in the coaching search. However, hiring an internal candidate could bode well for the current roster construction.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic mentioned Norton as a candidate (subscription required):

UCLA linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. could be an internal option. The L.A. native and former UCLA player was an assistant during USC’s dynasty days in the mid-2000s before following Pete Carroll to the NFL. The 57-year-old returned to college football in 2022 to coach at his alma mater.

Some UCLA fans also advocated for Norton to replace Kelly even before he left for Ohio State, and this is a name Martin Jarmond should at least consider for the job.

Pete Carroll admits Seahawks have been ‘a little bit arrogant’ on defense

The same could be said for the Seahawks defense over the last several years.

“Peace has cost you your strength. Victory has defeated you.”

So Tom Hardy’s Bane informed Patrick Bateman’s Batman in 2012’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ not long before breaking his back. The same could be said for the Seahawks defense over the last several years.

From 2012-2015 Seattle had the top defensive unit in the sport – ranking No. 1 in points allowed all four years and also top-five in DVOA. That proud group began to come apart beginning with the playoff loss to Carolina and it’s been a long fall since, but now the Seahawks officially have a below-average defense in all the ways that matter.

Head coach Pete Carroll offered up a telling quote yesterday at the 2022 NFL Combine that illustrates what’s happened, admitting that his team has been a bit arrogant over the years with the way they play defense.

This is exactly right and it’s very encouraging that Carroll is willing to admit it and change course.

For a long time, Seattle’s heavy cover 3 scheme was the envy of the entire league, but even with the most talented defensive personnel in football any scheme that becomes stale can be taken advantage of. It’s been several years since the Seahawks were elite in the talent department here, so it’s all the more important to embrace a necessary change. Losses to teams starting Kirk Cousins, Colt McCoy, Ben Roethlisberger and Taylor Heinicke at QB this past season is all the evidence you should need.

New defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt and associate head coach Sean Desai will be tasked with coming up with a gameplan every week that’s more aggressive and variable than the ones we’d come to expect from Ken Norton Jr. and Kris Richard before him.

To his credit, Norton started making some significant changes just after the Week 5 loss to the Rams – namely less zone, more varied looks (including two high safeties), and more disguising coverages. He didn’t go far enough though, which was part of the reason Seattle wound up ranked No. 21 in DVOA last year.

Carroll’s admission that his defense needed to change should be exciting for every fan who wants to see this team finally get back to performing at an elite level on this side of the ball.

If only Pete would have a similar revelation on offense and embrace a more analytics-friendly-let-Russell-Wilson-loose kind of attack then the Seahawks would really be cooking with gas.

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Seahawks should expect more 3-4 fronts under new DC Clint Hurtt

Hurtt also seems to prefer the 3-4 system up front.

One of the reasons why the Seahawks haven’t been back to the Super Bowl since the 2014 season is a defensive scheme that has gone to pot. Early in his tenure as Seattle’s head coach, Pete Carroll enjoyed exceptional success running a heavy 4-3 system with almost exclusive single-high formations – mostly cover 3 but also some cover 1 thrown in.

It worked at first, but over the years as the team’s defensive talent began to bleed out and opponents started catching on, the scheme became less and less effective until finally it bottomed out under former defensive coordinator Kris Richard. Over the last four years with Ken Norton Jr. there were some changes – including bear fronts and more two-high looks, but too often he relied on the same stale concepts and was too slow to adjust – particularly early in the 2021 season. To his credit, Norton began mixing things up a lot more in October, but the damage had already been done and the Seahawks couldn’t climb out and make the playoffs.

Good news: under newly promoted defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt the Seahawks are expected to accelerate their shift away from cover 3 and continue adjusting as needed. Fans should expect to see more two safety formations, more disguises and more varied looks. Hurtt also seems to prefer the 3-4 system up front. Here’s what he said about it in a recent interview with ESPN 710 Seattle.

“You know, when you’re in a 4-3 structure, sometimes it’s really hard to disguise coverages the way you would like to. I’m not saying you can’t, but you’re gonna give the good quarterbacks tells. So get into that system, of being in a 3-4 structure, and the ability to hide coverage, pressures, and things of that nature was really impactful.” 

Changing things up schematically will help get this Seahawks defense back to a respectable level. Hurtt will need some new personnel as well, though – beginning with an impactful 3-4 edge rusher. Two of the top options about to hit free agency include Chandler Jones and Von Miller.

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How the Seahawks defense has evolved under Pete Carroll’s different coordinators

To see how we got here, let’s examine how the defense has evolved over time under different coordinators.

The Seattle Seahawks named Clint Hurtt their new defensive coordinator a few days ago, making him the fifth different individual to serve in that position during Pete Carroll’s time as the team’s head coach.

Hurtt has his work cut out for him, for certain. A high standard has been set for this defense over the years under Carroll and meeting it won’t be easy. While Hurtt has some exceptional individual pieces, overall this unit can’t be expected to compete at the same level as the all-time great defenses that were the norm for the first half of the last decade.

To see how we got here, let’s examine how the defense has evolved over time under different coordinators.

Seahawks DC Clint Hurtt: Pete Carroll has ‘given me full autonomy’

Hurtt also says Carroll has always given the defensive staff full rein.

Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt has a lot of questions to answer as he sets out to reinvigorate a unit that had gone stale after four frequently passive seasons spent under former DC Ken Norton Jr. – who was fired in January. Hurtt was officially named his replacement earlier this week.

One question that hasn’t gone away for any defensive coordinator who’s worked under Pete Carroll in Seattle is just how much autonomy they really have to run the defense as they see fit. Hurt was asked that on a Thursday appearance on the local ESPN radio station and said that Carroll has given him full autonomy.

“I think that’s way overblown what’s being said. Pete is the type of coach who’s going to let you coach. . . He’s given me full autonomy. . . obviously when you’re a coordinator and you have a head coach … you have somebody you have to answer to when there’s things that come up. That’s part of it, and that’s no issue for me. And I want to also lean on him for his expertise.”

Hurtt also says Carroll has always given the defensive staff full-rein.

“He’s given us full rein to go and put in a defense, run it and it’s not the things that we’ve always been running here for the last 11 or 12 years.”

There you have it.

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Clint Hurtt hits all the right notes diagnosing Seahawks’ defensive problems

There’s a lot more to the job than just saying the right things, but what he did say should come as music to the ears of Seattle fans.

The Seahawks had one of the weirdest defensive units in the NFL last year. While they did a relatively good job of keeping points off the board, Seattle strugged in just about every other way that a defense can.

To name just a few major issues, the front four did a poor job of consistently getting pressure and former defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. didn’t do enough to help manufacture pressures, either. Combined with a soft zone scheme that asked too much of its back-seven, the defense got beat during the regular season by a series of patient game manager quarterbacks who could have been stopped by a more aggressive scheme.

Norton also made some questionable moves using his personnel – among them dropping his defensive linemen back into coverage – including his defensive tackles.

Most frustrating were the issues with strong safety Jamal Adams being put out of positions to make an impact and into ones where his unique skillset leaves him more vulnerable. Rather than finding new ways to counter offenses that had schemed up against Adams as a pass rusher, Norton dropped him back more and more often into the two-deep, middle field open looks that are replacing the traditional cover 3 stuff Carroll’s teams are known for. Trouble is, that’s not Adams’ game and he had predictable issues covering big tight ends and shifty slot receivers. He went from 9.5 sacks in 2020 to zero and allowed four touchdowns.

Norton deserves credit for getting his defense to stop the run and tighten up in the red zone, but these mistakes were all too much to overcome and the unit simply couldn’t get off the field often enough. That contributed to the team’s league-worst time of possession imbalance.

Good news: help has arrived in the form of former defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, who’s officially been promoted to replace Norton as DC. There’s a lot more to the job than just saying the right things, but what he did say should come as music to the ears of Seattle fans who have grown tired of languishing defensively. Hurtt shared a number of encouraging quotes in his first press conference in his new position on Wednesday and he addressed all the major flaws.

In general, Hurtts plans to field a more aggressive defensive unit – echoing what head coach Pete Carroll said about wanting a more attack-minded defense after Norton’s firing. Blitzing more often will be a part of that, as will not playing such a “zoney” strategy in general. Hurtt also mentioned Jamal Adams, who he correctly identified as “still a difference maker” – it’s on him to use Adams in the right way. Hurtt also seems fundamentally opposed to dropping DL back into coverage – saying he doesn’t want to see them “going backward” anymore.

It’s still very early in the process and Hurtt will be judged based on the results he produces in 2022 and beyond. However, diagnosing what’s wrong with this defense is the first step towards fixing it and he nailed it.

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Seahawks legend Lofa Tatupu calls Clint Hurtt a ‘phenomenal coach’

Tatupu shared high praise for Hurtt’s work as defensive line coach over the past few years.

The Seattle Seahawks ranked in the bottom half of the league in just about every meaningful defensive category except points allowed in 2021. The organization is hoping to turn the unit around with some coaching changes. Ed Norton Jr. is gone and former Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell expected to join the team’s staff, while defensive line coach Clint Hurtt is reportedly being promoted to defensive coordinator.

There’s at least one franchise legend who thinks those are good moves. Former Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu sat down with 710 ESPN Seattle to discuss what Hurtt and Donatell bring to the defense. Tatupu shared high praises for Hurtt’s work as defensive line coach the past few years, expressing his belief that he will transition well to being a defensive coordinator in 2022.

“I love Clint. He’s a phenomenal coach and he’s done a great job with that D-line and I think he’ll be an excellent D-coordinator, too.”

As for Donatell,  Tatupu says his past with coach Pete Carroll plus his experience fielding a sturdy defense in Denver should serve the team well.

​​​​“I know Donatell’s going to be here and he led a strong defense over in Denver, and having worked with Pete before, I think they have a rapport where they can go back and forth and there’s some trust there and he can tell him the truth. . . I think that can be huge and beneficial to the defense and the team.”

Ideally these moves will bring an end to Norton’s “bend but don’t break” style of defense that cedes underneath yardage and contributes to the unit staying on the field for too long – one of many reasons why Seattle ranked No. 32 in time of possession. Let’s hope the new staff can consistently put the defense in a better position to succeed in 2022.

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Seahawks promoting assistant head coach Clint Hurtt to defensive coordinator

Seahawks promoting assistant head coach Clint Hurtt to defensive coordinator

According to a report by Bob Condotta and Adam Jude at the Seattle Times, the Seahawks are expected to promote assistant head coach and defensive line coach Clint Hurtt to defensive coordinator. The position has been open since Ken Norton Jr. was fired in January, along with defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis.

Hurtt has been with the organization for about five years now after spending three seasons with the Chicago Bears as an outside linebackers/assistant DL coach. Hurtt had also supposedly been in the mix for the Miami defensive coordinator job – where he went to college.

Seattle is also expected to hire Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell in a “senior” defensive role on coach Pete Carroll’s staff.

The Seahawks may not be done making moves for more coaches, either. Additionally, the team hopes to hire Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai to take over as the defensive passing game coordinator.

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