After setting their first losing record since 2011 and only missing the playoffs for the second time in 10 years, the Seahawks announced Tuesday that they have relieved defense coordinator Ken Norton Jr. Defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis has also been abandoned.
Seattle ranked 28th this season in yards allowed per game (379.1) and 20th in competitors’ passing rating (93.6), while imposing only 18 takeaways.
“Defensively, we haven’t started fast enough this season again,” Carroll told the team after the season ended, according to ESPN’s Randy Henderson. “These two times in a row we didn’t start fast enough, found ourselves and put in some good numbers that indicate how you play. It all didn’t happen soon enough.”
Norton has been the defensive coordinator since 2018. He was an assistant to Pete Carroll’s team at USC from 2004-09, then came to Seattle with him as the linebacker coach. He left the Seahawks to become the Raiders defensive coordinator in 2015, returning three years later.
Curtis worked with the Seahawks for seven seasons, starting as an assistant junior coach before becoming the defensive back coach in 2017. He took over as the defensive passing game coordinator in 2018.
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