Tag: Ken Norton Jr.

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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Seahawks request interview with Cowboys defensive coach Joe Whitt Jr.

The Seattle Seahawks have requested to interview Dallas Cowboys defensive coach Joe Whitt Jr. for their open defensive coordinator position.

The Seattle Seahawks just parted ways with defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. this week and the team is already on the hunt for his replacement. Seattle has reported interest in a number of candidates, with a new name thrown into the mix as of Wednesday night according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

“The Seahawks put in a request to interview Cowboys defensive passing game coordinator/secondary Joe Whitt Jr. for their defensive coordinator job, per source,” Pelissero tweeted. “Whitt is a 14-year NFL assistant and widely respected.”

Whitt has spent time with the Falcons, Packers, Browns and Cowboys throughout his professional career.

You can follow all the Seahawks’ potential coaching candidates for the defensive coordinator position on our live tracker here.

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Seahawks: Tracking new defensive coordinator candidates for 2022

The team already has a few candidates lined up, both in-house and from around the NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks are in the market for a new defensive coordinator and head coach Pete Carroll is looking for a more attack-minded defense than the one Ken Norton Jr. put on the field this past season.

The team already has a few candidates lined up, both in-house and from around the NFL. Here we will be tracking each of them as reports come in.

Seahawks request permission to interview Broncos defensive coordinator

According to a report by Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, the team has requested permission to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

The Seahawks are beginning their search to replace defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., who was fired yesterday along with defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis. Internally, defensive line coach Clint Hurtt is reportedly among those in the running.

Seattle will also be looking at outside candidates, though. According to a report by Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, the team has requested permission to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

Donatell has been working under Vic Fangio for the last several years, both in Denver and Chicago. He has a lot of experience as a defensive backs coach, as well as with Pete Carroll – who was on the same staff on the Jets in the early 90s.

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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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Seahawks coach Pete Carroll doesn’t anticipate any changes to his staff

Pete also doesn’t seem to be pondering any changes to his staff.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll doesn’t sound concerned about his job security. Following yesterday’s victory over the Cardinals, Carroll told reporters that he’s in great shape on that count.

Pete also doesn’t seem to be pondering any changes to his staff. Speaking in his weekly ESPN radio hit, Carroll said he wasn’t anticipating any right now.

Special teams coordinator Larry Izzo did a sensational job this season and his position should be as secure as anyone’s.

Defensive teams coordinator Ken Norton Jr. took a lot of heat during a brutal first few games of the year. However, his unit rounded into shape around Russell Wilson’s injury in Week 5 and played exceptionally well for the rest of the season for the most part. As long as Carroll is safe, Norton should be considered safe as well.

The only maybe is offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, a relatively unknown commodity. Waldron’s offense looked brilliant the first couple of weeks then sputtered and eventually fell off a cliff after Wilson’s injury. He did appear to figure things out in Weeks 17-18 though, which should give him some breathing room.

Our money is on the entire trifecta returning in 2022. As for position coaches, they’ll need to replace their former quarterbacks coach Sean Davis, but other than that there’s no reason to believe any other change is needed.

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Seahawks have 3 duds and 2 studs in 26-17 loss to Rams

Thursday was a rough night for the Seattle Seahawks.

Thursday was a rough night for the Seattle Seahawks. Not only did they lose a crucial game to the hated Los Angeles Rams to fall to 2-3, but they may have lost their franchise QB for some time. The biggest story coming out of this game is Russell Wilson injuring the middle finger on his throwing hand. For a player who has been incredibly durable, Wilson missed the entire fourth quarter.

The Seahawks didn’t lose the game because Wilson was out, though. They were already down 16-7 and looked entirely lost on both sides of the ball. For the first time since 2010, Seattle has lost three straight games at home, including two against the Rams. Here are our studs and duds for Week 5.

 

Ken Norton Jr. expects to see a more balanced Jamal Adams this year

Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. expects to see a more balanced Jamal Adams this year once the safety is fully healthy.

Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is still sidelined at training camp, having yet to practice as he recovers from offseason surgeries and awaits a contract extension.

But defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. sees even bigger and better things from Adams as he heads into his second season in Seattle.

“He came into a new situation last year where he didn’t know a lot of the defense and had to learn it really fast,’’ Norton told reporters Tuesday after practice. “We’ve had an offseason with him now, and he’s been able to learn all of the coverages at a slow pace because he hasn’t been out there.”

Even though Adams put up impressive numbers in his first year with the Seahawks, he did suffer a number of injuries that undoubtedly hindered his performance. Once he’s fully recovered and signed and sealed to a new deal, Norton is expecting to see a complete player.

“You’ll see more of a balanced guy, not just a blitzer,” Norton said. “You’ll see a blitzer as well as a cover guy. He’s a guy who play both sides so he will certainly be more well-rounded.”

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