Aden Durde Aiming to 'Take the Weight Off' Seattle Seahawks Head Coach in Opener

Mike Macdonald will be calling the Seahawks' defensive plays on Sunday versus the Denver Broncos, but defensive coordinator Aden Durde will still be filling a key role.

Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde fields questions following one of the team's open OTA sessions. /

Mike Macdonald is sticking with his original plan of calling the defensive plays on gamedays. The Seattle Seahawks head coach will need support, which is why he hired Aden Durde as his defensive coordinator.

Seattle begins its regular season against the Denver Broncos at Lumen Field on Sunday. Macdonald will be “the one hitting the button and saying the words,” as he coined it on Wednesday, but Durde will play a key role.

Durde said he would primarily be looking for areas where he “can take the weight off” Macdonald, as the latter also juggles coaching the entire team. That will include deploying personnel groupings, making small tweaks with individual players on the sideline and continuing to communicate with his head coach about the in-game plans, Durde said.

“It’s more me looking from, not necessarily from his eyes, [but] I try and look around corners for him in the moment because that’s my job,” Durde told reporters on Thursday.

Durde called the plays in Seattle’s first and second preseason games, which was a fresh assignment for him as a first-time defensive coordinator. As the games went on, Durde got more comfortable, he said. It helped him understand the process better should he ever need to fill that role.

“I called them in different parts of the game that kind of affected some of the calls out there on how you manage personnel and how you process that,” Durde added. “For my growth, it was huge.”

To be clear, Durde wasn’t demoted from the role to begin the regular season. Macdonald stated he planned to push the buttons all the way back in February during his introductory press conference. The preseason simply presented an opportunity for Durde to get experience with the responsibility.

However, Macdonald also implied at the time he may relinquish those duties when he felt the time was right.

“Ultimately, I’m the head coach of the football team, so I want to coach the football team,” Macdonald said on Feb. 1. “Right now, the best way that we can win, in my opinion, is for me to call the plays, and when it becomes obvious that someone else is ready to go and we see it the same way, then we will make that change.”

With the offseason, training camp and preseason in the rear-view mirror, Durde is beginning to understand Macdonald's tendencies. Durde has also called plays during certain practice periods, but when he isn’t, he tries to predict what Macdonald will be calling in his head.

Durde is now more accurately predicting what Macdonald will be calling based on the specific football situation. That’s just as important as the game reps — ensuring the pair will be on the same page more often than not, regardless of who is at the controls. It also means Durde could eventually assume that authority.

Aug 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

For now, Durde isn’t worried about Macdonald’s ability to multitask on Sundays.

“I would say the number one thing is his ability to process information in the moment,” Durde said of what has impressed him most about Macdonald. “He can do it at a very high level. Also, his belief in what he wants. I believe in him, and that says a lot to me.”

When game planning for Denver, Durde said they must be “led by your rules” in understanding their fundamentals first and then expanding from that central point — especially at the outset of the regular season. They expect to build from there.

“Really and truthfully, everyone’s still finding out who they are,” Durde said. “That’s the growth of the NFL, teams evolve over the season … It’s all about us on Sunday. It’s about us, how we approach it, and when we go out there, how we execute.”

After seven months of preparation, Durde and Macdonald are ready to debut Seattle’s “new” defense that includes a familiar core of players and a batch of new additions, both rookie and veteran.

The scheme may be Macdonald’s, but Durde will be equally critical in assuring Seattle’s success against the Broncos on Sunday.