The Seattle Seahawks have parted ways with their defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.

Munich/Seattle – With eight teams still battling it out in the playoffs for a spot in the Super Bowl, the first personnel decisions are coming for the rest.

The Seattle Seahawks have decided to part ways with defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and defensive pass game coordinator Andre Curtis. The Seahawks confirmed this via their social media.

Pass defense with horror numbers

The decision is likely the result of the Seahawks defence’s defensive revelation in recent years. The pass defence is also putting up horror numbers in 2021. With an average of almost 266 passing yards, Seattle had to swallow up the second most yards through the air in the entire league.

According to “ProFootballTalk”, the Seahawks’ overall defence was the fifth-worst in general. While there has been frequent speculation in recent weeks about head coach Pete Carroll leaving, it has hit at least part of his coaching staff.

The @Seahawks relieved Ken Norton Jr. and Andre Curtis of their duties this afternoon. https://t.co/yPjHy6VXo7

– Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) January 18, 2022

As defensive coordinator, Norton Jr. had been with the Seahawks since 2018. But even before that, he was an important part of the Seahawks’ successful decade in the 2010s. As linebackers coach between 2010 and 2014, he won a Super Bowl with Seattle and co-founded the legendary “Legion of Boom”, which was considered the best defence in the league for years.

As a possible replacement for Norton Jr., a report in The Seattle Times names defensive line coach Clint Hurtt as an in-house solution. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell of the Denver Broncos is also being floated as a possible candidate for the now-open position.