The British Coach Building The Seahawks' New 'Legion Of Boom'

 

Since becoming Britain's first full-time NFL coach in 2018, Durde spends most of the year focused on the daily grind of American football.

Having joined the Atlanta Falcons, he was promoted in 2020 before taking another step up the coaching ladder with the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.

The 45-year-old from Middlesex is now just one rung from head coach having been appointed as the Seattle Seahawks' defensive coordinator in February.

"I haven't spoken about it much," he told BBC Sport while back in the UK during the off-season. "My family care about it, but it’s just something I do.

"Coming home and talking to media, being around all the guys at NFL UK, it's made me think. It hasn't hit me till today really. It is crazy.

"I was back in my old office and it was like I was here yesterday, so it’s a good reflection moment to say I am very grateful for this opportunity. I'm really excited for the future."

And that future already looks bright, with the Seahawks one of just five teams looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the new NFL season going into week four this weekend.

A former linebacker, Durde made it on to the practice squad of two NFL teams. But coaching has proved his true calling, starting with the London Warriors in 2011.

He later served as NFL UK's head of football development and earned coaching internships with Dallas and Atlanta, where he was given a permanent job by then Falcons coach Dan Quinn.

Both moved to Dallas in 2021 - Quinn as defensive coordinator, Durde as defensive line coach - and they transformed the Cowboys' defence into one of the NFL's best.

That saw Quinn become Washington head coach in February, while Durde was interviewed by five teams.

Word of Durde's coaching ability is spreading across the NFL and it was Mike Macdonald, a man he hadn't met before, who took Durde on after succeeding Seattle's long-serving head coach Pete Carroll.

"It’s a great opportunity and a great organisation," said Durde. "I really like Mike. I believe in what he believes in and where he wants to take the team.

"He’s a great dude. A great teacher, super smart. He has a clear vision of what we want to achieve. The way he wants us to do things, to approach things, how we do meetings and develop players – they're all things I align with.

"It’s the way we’re going to do things moving forwards and we've all bought into it. I’m working around some great people and we're growing together, so it’s exciting times."

Dynamic defence key to unbeaten start

Durde has inherited a young, dynamic defence, which has hit the ground running this season. The Seahawks have won their opening three games and on Sunday held the Miami Dolphins to just three points.

Head coach Macdonald spent most of the last decade working with the dominant Baltimore Ravens defence and has installed a versatile, complex scheme in Seattle with a balanced, flexible defence.

They disguise how the defence looks, keeping the opposition guessing where the threat will come from. They had six quarterback sacks against Miami, spread across five different players.

Across their opening three games, Seattle have conceded the fewest yards per play (3.9), the second-fewest yards per game (248.7) and the fourth-fewest points per game (14.3).

Durde's mentor Quinn was the Seahawks' defensive coordinator back then, but the Briton says this team is building its own identity.

"We've been making sure we're putting the right things in place at the right stages so we can start the year the way we want to start it," he said.

"As we’re building this, I’m looking at where we’re going and how we're doing it fundamentally day by day, week by week, phase by phase.

"The one thing I’m most excited about is the opportunity to be part of something from the start - to build a way of doing things, a way of life, a standard and identity within the defence that is bigger than just one of us.

"It's a smart, physical, tough team, and we've got a lot of talented players, so I’m excited about what they can be."

Seattle will face the first big test of their play-off credentials on Monday against the Detroit Lions, who reached last season's NFC Championship game.

Durde, meanwhile, will keep flying the flag for the UK to ensure more Britons get the chance to follow in his footsteps and fulfil their NFL dream.

"I feel like I still have to do everything I can to be as good as I possibly can be, not just because it’s my job but for the opportunity for everyone else," he added.

"If I represent myself well, hopefully it creates other opportunities for people [from the UK] to get seen."