The Seahawks answered the prayers of many fans by firing Ken Norton Jr.

Mike Dugar of The Athletic broke down all of the defense’s key stats during Norton’s tenure (decent vs. the run, terrible vs. the pass) and surmised that Norton and Pete Carroll may not have been aligned on how Seattle should play defense.

Here’s another reason Norton was let go: The Seahawks set a franchise low with 18 takeaways in 2021 (with an extra game, to boot).

So who will replace him? Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times says it looks like Carroll wants to be more aggressive. The known candidates are Denver DC Ed Donatell and Chicago DC Sean Desai (who both have ties to just fired Denver coach Vic Fangio), plus Seattle DL coach Clint Hurtt and Dallas pass defense coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., who worked under former Seattle DC Dan Quinn in Atlanta and Dallas.

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