Aden Durde comes from Great Britain and has never played a game in the NFL, but is highly regarded as the defensive line coach of the Dallas Cowboys and is considered a candidate for a role as defensive coordinator. ran tells his story.

Dallas/Munich – It is no longer unusual for players from Europe to establish themselves in the NFL. German players like Jakob Johnson and Mark Nzeocha or ex-pros like Björn Werner and Sebastian Vollmer are proof of this.

However, it is a real rarity that European coaches find a place in the world’s best football league. Aden Durde, the defensive line coach of the Dallas Cowboys (Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, from 10:15 p.m. live on ProSieben and ran.de), is the first Briton to land a full-time position as a coach in the NFL and could possibly even be called to higher things.

“I know a lot of coaches on the other side of the Atlantic who could,” the 42-year-old told the Associated Press. “I had the opportunity because of my situation. I’m very proud of that because I think I represent a lot of people. “

From London to the Scottish Claymores and the Hamburg Sea Devils

Growing up in Middlesex, in the south east of England. He learned the sport at the amateur club London Olympians, before he got into paid football as a linebacker via the then NFL Europe.

He spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons with the Scottish Claymores, and from 2005 to 2007 he was with the Hamburg Sea Devils. Briefly, the NFL teams of the Carolina Panthers (2005) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2008) signed him. However, he never made it past the practice squad and never played a regular NFL game as a player;

But he succeeded as a coach. At first, there was little to suggest that he would ever be able to make a living as a coach. Durde first coached the youth team of the London Warriors in his home country.

However, his field of activity grew: Durde helped football talents to get scholarships at US universities. He was also responsible for the NFL’s football development programme in the UK and has been involved in the International Player Pathway Programme.

Coach development programme enabled NFL entry

These roles earned him a recommendation for the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

The fellowship programme has been in existence for more than 30 years and offers talented coaches the opportunity to gain initial experience at NFL teams’ training camps and, ideally, to be placed as a coach. All 32 NFL teams participate in this programme year after year.

Those who have gained coaching experience at college, high school or in a professional league (CFL, XFL, etc.) or who have been active as an NFL player are eligible to apply. Because Durde met the latter requirement through his short-term commitments, he was allowed to participate.

Durde first came to the Dallas Cowboys through the programme, then landed his first real coaching job as defensive quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. Prior to the 2020 season, he was promoted to outside linebackers coach.

Dan Quinn is his booster

Dan Quinn, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons at the time, was immediately convinced by Durde: “He has super skills as a football teacher. He is able to connect with different people on different sides of the ball. He comes up with new ideas and new ways of looking at things. He’s given me a lot of feedback over the years.”

After Quinn was released by the Falcons in September 2020 and joined the Dallas Cowboys as defensive coorindator the following year, he caught up with Durde so he could take the defensive line coach position.

This seems to be far from the end of the line for the Englishman. On “nfl.com” he has already been named as one of the candidates who can legitimately hope for a position as defensive coordinator. NFL Media Analyst Scott Pioli writes: “He has a tremendous eye for evaluating players and talent. That’s a skill not all coaches possess. “

Patrick Esume praises Durde: “No one deserved it more “

This assessment also pleased ran expert Patrick Esume, among others. When he was a member of the Sea Devils’ coaching team, he got to know Durde. They are still in contact today.

He knows how much Durde had to sacrifice for his job. “He has a wife and two children. His wife worked in London as a midwife. I think she has just joined him now. It was a long-distance relationship in the early years. He gave a lot to make that happen,” Esume tells his podcast “Football Bromance.”

For Esume, that means: “No one deserved it more than him if he became the first coordinator who didn’t play and learn football over there. “