Seattle Seahawks: 3 coaches who need to replace Ken Norton, Jr.

Jim Schwartz

Schwartz did not coach this season but was an advisor for the Tennessee Titans and that helped the Titans go from 24th in the NFL in scoring in 2020 to 6th this year. Tennessee was also 24th in yards-per-play allowed last season (5.9) to 15th in 2021 (5.4). Tennessee’s defensive improvement was a massive reason why the Titans were the number-one seed in the AFC this year.

Schwartz does have experience being a head coach and was just that for the Lions from 2009 through 2013 but he wasn’t successful. However, Schwartz has been a defensive coordinator for 14 years in the league and was last DC in 2020 for the Eagles. Philadelphia was in complete rebuild mode last year so the players Schwartz had to work with weren’t the best.

But Schwartz has a history of being a successful DC. In 2015, the Eagles were 28th in points allowed. Schwartz became DC in 2016 and the Eagles finished 12th in points allowed. From 2017 to 2019, Schwartz run defense finished 7th or better in yards allowed rushing per game (Philadelphia finished first in 2017). The Eagles finished in the teens in yards allowed passing per game in every season Schwartz was the DC except one. This means, opposing offenses had difficulty running and throwing against the Eagles.

From 2017 through 2020, Philadelphia also finished every year in the top half of the league in sacks. So Schwartz’s defenses stopped the run, were good against the pass and put pressure on quarterbacks. Under Norton, Jr., Seattle has struggled to do to most of those consistently. Schwartz would be a good replacement for Norton, Jr. and would help the Seahawks win more games.