Ken Norton Jr. as DC after all?

[AROS]

WOW! Now THIS is a bit of a surprise for me! (but a pleasant one for my part). I know that people are going to be down on him due to his experiences in Oakland ... but I for one was not happy when Norton left. I LOVE the attitude -- the FIRE that this guy brings. He was a real asset when he was here IMO.

I know that some may blow this off ... but for me, a lot of success whether we're talking about coaching staffs ... or the players themselves ... depends upon chemistry. Is there a good chemistry that exists? Do coaches and players see eye to eye? Do they have the same (or similar) philosophies? Do they communicate well? Are they a cohesive group?

As I look at the cast of characters that Pete Carroll has now assembled ... I can honestly say I think so. Norton and Carroll (I think) really do see eye to eye (defense philosophy wise) -- much moreso that Carroll and Richard did. Norton strikes me as a guy who always looks to ATTACK the opponent ... rather than waiting for the opponent to come to him. He dictates to the offense rather than the other way around (which is kind of what I felt often was the case with Richard). I felt Richard was much more reactive ... whereas I see Norton being much more instinctive and predator-like -- taking it to the offense. That attack mode is MUCH more Pete Carroll.

I DO also feel that the players also like and respect Ken Norton a lot -- that is a major plus.

So, my preliminary gut reaction to this hire -- I like it. I like it a lot. We'll see if I still like it as much come next December, but for right now, I'm giving this one a thumbs up! Great move IMO. :2thumbs:

Yep, precisely how I feel about him...Thank you for saving the keystrokes. :2thumbs:

 

[Atradees]

Norton is just a winner. Raiders hot g
arbage

 

[johnnyfever]

I like this move. I think Richard was a good defensive coach, but I think the core defense from the Superbowl didn't really view him as the authority figure the position demands. Richard seemed like he was your buddy that was also your boss, and sometimes the defense put too much credence in their own ability to read the offense and "audible" before the snap. I don't have any hard data to back this up other than guys seemed to tackle less effectively and miss assignments more under Richard. Norton I think doesn't add anything much to scheme or strategy, but rather brings back the authority and discipline to hold each position accountable to their primary task.

Having said that, Richard did deal with a ton of core injuries this year, so if he would have been retained as DC, I would have been ok with that.

I like solari, but feel we went sideways with schotty.

 

[blaisio]

I really like having Ken Norton Jr back. For one, you are snatching him up out from under the 49ers. I'm sure it shows the players on this team his commitment to them by opting out of his 10 day old contract to be here again.

I was thinking about this the other day and to me it seemed like Kris was his dbs choice for dc. With Sherm, Earl, and Kam being the vocal leaders on the defense it only made sense. I was thinking that the emergence of Bobby being the NEW voice of this defense and with Ken being his choice for DC (being former position coach) maybe they are looking to build around him vs the LoB.

I don't think that Pete has a need to appease the LoB anymore given the injuries and emergence of their replacements. I think that Ken has the presence to combat the divas and now we have a path forward if they don't fall in line.

I just could never see Sherm yelling at Ken like he did Kris.

 

[sc85sis]

This is probably a long shot, but it’s not entirely impossible that Pete will do on defense what he did at USC on offense in 2005: co-coordinators. ‘05 gave us Sarkiffian, maybe 2018 will give rise to Norchard (Richton?).

Doubtful, but who knows.

 

[Vesuve]

According to King 5 and Norton Jr's wife,

The Seahawks are hiring him as DC

Link: http://www.king5.com/article/sports/nfl ... -508241996

 

[Blitzer88]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I know for certain that Norton will be more vocal, but does that mean he will be a better coordinator? Not sure. For all of his short comings Richard had, he was a good d-coordinator that dealt with a number of key injuries this season.

 

[Mistashoesta]

[youtube]Ur0PPahelPk[/youtube]

 

[lukerguy]

It never made sense to have a defensive backs coach be the defensive coordinator... I would prefer a DLINE specialist like Quinn, but i'll take a LBs coach like Gus.

He also shares Gus' passion, age, and carries more respect amongst the players than Richard.

Ultimately it's Pete's defense so you're looking to add someone who can add value to one of the other two position groups.

 

[two dog]

I see Norton Jr. as a step down from K. Richard as a DC.

As a tough guy who commands respect, Norton excels. plus he's a hell of a
motivator though Richard was no slouch in that area.

I think we're giving up critical thinking which may be at the heart of the issue.
Pete wants it done his way, no hesitation, no argument, no critical thinking.
That's Norton.

Kris Richard MAY be a head coach someday. I doubt that will happen for Norton.

 

[themunn]

Injuries aside, we let a lot of mediocre quarterbacks get the best of us in recent years, which NEVER happened under Dan Quinn.

Austin Davis in 2014.

So you're saying Brian Schottenheimer is a better OC than Dan Quinn DC?
Especially given the level of talent each had at their disposal...

 

[olyfan63]

Out of morbid curiosity, I would love to see what this team would look like if they were built to run and control the clock and crush people on the defensive front.

Simple, just pop in the tape of the 2013 Seahawks.

 

[original poster]

I LOVE this hire.

The D is going to have a fire lit under them in a big way. We've got SO much talent in the front, middle and back of this defense, if we can get to near 100% out of all that talent, having a top 3 defense again is absolutely possible.

 

[olyfan63]

Injuries aside, we let a lot of mediocre quarterbacks get the best of us in recent years, which NEVER happened under Dan Quinn.

Austin Davis in 2014.

<snip>

Case Keenum in 2016.
http://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/ ... -return-la

Keenum has looked pretty good lately though. He is, somehow, still playing.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I Don't understand this move at all. The Raiders defense improved quite a bit after this guy was fired. Is this some kind of move on Pete's part to salvage a locker room that he is losing? Or is he going to be calling the defense, while having Norton as the figurehead/hammer of the team? Aside from Solari these moves do not inspire any kind of confidence, in fact I'm worried that we may have downgraded our staff if that was even possible. I'm praying that Schottenheimer reports were premature.

Honestly I don't want Pete to have anything to do with the offense.

 

[getnasty]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BuckyBrooks/status/953033334925402112[/tweet]

Bucky Brooks rated Andy Dalton higher than Russell Wilson few seasons ago. Move on.

So did ever team in the NFL

 

[getnasty]

People love Quinn but remember Quinn got our defense healthy and in there prime he also benefited from our QB getting paid peanuts allowing us to have incredible depth and a OL that could run the ball. Not saying that Quinn isnt good but lets not forget we blew a big lead in the SB under him and I doubt we look that much better under him last year.

 

[cymatica]

Sigh... really? This is a trade down. I know many of you like him, but his defenses were not good in Oakland and certainly not better than Seattle's.

I'm disappointed that Kris may be fired for a dude coming from an awful defense. Unless this is about something internal and not x's & o's or play calling then I don't get this move.

This may be about getting the D players back in line. They tuned our Richard, and Ken will definitely command their respect and make these guys toe the line.

Probably more than most think. Imagine Sherman trying to yell at Norton

 

[lobohawk]

Won't say if Norton a good or bad hire as DC, cause I don't have enough insight to have a valid opinion.

I will warn that fans have to be careful about superimposing their perception of a former good player and overlay that on coaching. One doesn't automatically mean the other is true, but we often do it since we're fans.

 

[hawkfan68]

I'm puzzled that people think Norton is going to run his defense here...that's not going to be the case. He will be running Pete Carroll's defense here. Just like Bradley, Quinn, and Richard have done. The names may have changed but this is Pete Carroll's defense and he's the main DC for the Seahawks.