Building The Seahawks Standard: Coach Aden Durde Details Vision For Defense

Much as his new boss indicated earlier this month, it will take time for Aden Durde to truly assess the state of the Seattle Seahawks defense, but the first time coordinator has strong beliefs on what it will take to get the unit back to playing at a championship level.

RENTON, Wash. - Only one day after arriving in the Emerald City to officially be introduced as the new defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, it didn't take long for Aden Durde to field a question about the championship readiness of the defense he inherited.

Some coaches may have rushed to proclaim Seattle's defense as championship caliber - or the exact opposite, considering they finished 24th in points allowed in 2023 - but Durde hadn't even had a chance to dive into film to begin assessing his new squad. Unprepared for such a question, he didn't want to provide a superficial or uninformed answer when he had yet to see the "full picture."

“I think that’s a great question. I don’t want to do it injustice, because I literally landed a day and a half ago," Durde responded.

Following a whirlwind interview process that moved at lightning speed after an initial phone conversation with coach Mike Macdonald, Durde can be excused for not having an opinion on where the Seahawks stand defensively. He barely had time to unpack his suitcase before speaking with reporters for the first time, let alone partake in the extensive study necessary to evaluate players he will soon be coaching.

But while Durde will need some time to acclimate to his new surroundings and figure out what he has to work with personnel-wise, he isn't going into his new job blind either. Previously serving as the Cowboys defensive line coach, he watched Seattle's defense from the sideline in a tight Thursday Night Football contest in late November that Dallas ultimately won 41-35, giving him a bit of insight before ultimately accepting the position earlier this month.

Hired as a defensive coordinator for the first time in the NFL, Aden Durde has a bit of background knowledge on the Seattle Seahawks after coaching against them last fall

Statistically, Seattle didn't play well defensively in prime time, allowing Dallas to amass 411 total yards of offense and convert eight out of 14 third down opportunities into a new set of downs. But the unit did sack Dak Prescott four times and generate seven quarterback hits, finding far greater success rushing the passer than most opponents did against a top-tier offensive line, leaving a positive impression on Durde as he witnessed a defense more than capable of fulfilling his mission of "covering grass."

"When this team played against us in Dallas, I could feel the defense," Durde remarked. "I was coaching the defense, so I wasn’t really paying attention to the offense, but I could feel the speed that they were moving with the intent that they played with."

Despite having no prior connection to Macdonald, who spent nine of the past 10 seasons as an assistant with the Ravens while Durde worked under Dan Quinn with the Falcons and Cowboys, the two immediately hit it off in their preliminary interview, seeing eye to eye throughout the process.

Sharing many of the same viewpoints for how defense needs to be played to handle modern NFL offenses, including dealing with spread passing attacks predicated on creating space, handling specific down and distance scenarios, and attacking the quarterback, Macdonald promptly set up a second in-person interview with Durde to continue picking his brain. Appreciating his unique perspective after playing in NFL Europe and coaching linebackers and defensive line under Quinn, everything came together swiftly with Macdonald offering him the position on his first staff in Seattle.

“It just kind of clicked as we were going through it," Durde said of his interviews with Macdonald. "The conversation carried on and time goes by, but you don’t feel like time is going by. Then, you just know that you’re kind of with the right people."

What does this vision Durde and Macdonald share entail? Without climbing into too many specifics, Seattle's new defensive brain trust wants to replicate the cohesiveness at all three levels communication-wise from the defensive line all the way back to the cornerbacks and safeties in the secondary that paved the way for Baltimore's success the past two seasons.

If there's a reason for optimism on that front, the Seahawks have several quality veterans on the roster who can help set the tone communication-wise, starting with defensive tackle Jarran Reed in the trenches and safeties Quandre Diggs and Julian Love. Of course, they don't have Roquan Smith or Patrick Queen in the middle as the Ravens did the past two years at linebacker, but that problem could be quickly addressed by re-signing Bobby Wagner and/or Jordyn Brooks next month.

Away from communication, Durde wants to build an aggressive, attack-minded unit that swarms ball carriers sideline to sideline, harasses quarterbacks with the front four as well as schemed pressure, and most importantly plays with top-notch fundamentals, an area where Seattle struggled the past several seasons in regard to everything from botched run fits to blown coverages to missed tackles. Moving forward, both he and Macdonald expect those three criteria to become the standard for their new team.

“The standard is the fabric of this building. You can feel it when you walk in and to come and add to that is really exciting," Durde remarked. "There’s all the system stuff on top of that but, in those three prongs, if you’re rolling there, that’s our philosophy and how I’ve learned to build my kind of philosophy from my time in the league.”

As Durde starts to chop away analyzing film and evaluating personnel with Macdonald and the rest of the staff, difficult discussions await the franchise with free agency opening in less than a month. Aside from Wagner and Brooks, defensive tackle Leonard Williams also will test the market and could command top-10 money for his position, while Diggs and Jamal Adams both have cap hits north of $20 million in 2024, which could necessitate cost-cutting measures with one or both players.

Considering those upcoming roster-related decisions, the group Durde will be working with when OTAs open in May could be significantly different than the one he watched in Dallas last November or dissected on film in February. As Macdonald hinted in his introductory press conference, those choices will have a strong bearing on Seattle's scheme and how similar or different it will be compared to his tenure in Baltimore.

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But regardless of what happens with Williams, Wagner, and Brooks, Durde should have several exciting foundational blocks at his disposal, including Rookie of the Year finalist Devon Witherspoon and ascending pass rusher Boye Mafe. Those two players coupled with Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen, a returning Uchenna Nwosu, Reed, and others will give him and Macdonald plenty of established talent to construct their defensive attack around.

Once the rest of the pieces start to fit together in the aftermath of free agency and April's NFL draft, Durde will have a far more solidified idea of what the Seahawks defense can achieve next season. No matter what transpires in the next few months, however, he hopes fans will see his vision and philosophy come to life on Sundays with a much-improved defense built on connectedness, tenacity, and fundamentals.