Seahawks Fire DC Ken Norton Jr. as Part of Coaching Staff Shakeup

Norton had been a Seattle assistant for nine years, including spending the last four as defensive coordinator.

After posting their first losing record since 2011 and missing the playoffs for just the second time in 10 years, the Seahawks announced Tuesday they had relieved defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. from his duties. Defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis was also let go.

Seattle ranked 28th this season in total yards allowed per game (379.1) and 20th in opponents's passer rating (93.6), while forcing just 18 takeaways.

"Defensively, we didn't start fast enough in this season again," Carroll said after the team's season finale, per ESPN's Randy Henderson. "That's two times in a row we didn't start fast enough, and we found ourselves and put up some good numbers that indicate how you're playing. Just all of that just didn't happen soon enough."

Norton had held the defensive coordinator position since 2018. He was an assistant on Pete Carroll's staffs at USC from 2004-09, then came over to Seattle with him as the team's linebackers coach. He left the Seahawks to become the defensive coordinator for the Raiders in 2015, and returned three years later.

Curtis had been with the Seahawks for seven seasons, starting as an assistant secondary coach before becoming the defensive backs coach in 2017. He took over as defensive passing game coordinator in 2018.

• Seahawk Maven: Did Seahawks Make the Right Move Firing Norton?

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