At least two prominent websites that cover the NFL have singled out current assistant coaches and former head men who are most likely to snag head coaching positions in 2027. Eighteen different names appeared on at least one of the lists. Noticeably absent – the defensive coordinator of the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Aden Durde.
Five other teams landed two names on these lists. That includes Seattle’s biggest rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, which makes some sense.
Everyone seems to want coaches who studied at the feet of Sean McVay, and both Rams’ coordinators – Chris Shula on defense and Nate Scheelhaase on offense – had multiple head coaching interviews in the latest cycle. Durde did as well, though not as many as the Rams’ pair.
Aden Durde’s omission is just one more way the Seattle Seahawks are being ignored this offseason
But that double-coordinator list also includes candidates from the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens, both of whom missed the playoffs in 2025.
No offense to Christian Parker, Klayton Adams, Declan Doyle, and Anthony Weaver, but if they are “hot” candidates at this point, then I have to believe Durde – who, in case you forgot in the last two paragraphs – presided over the Super Bowl-winning defense in 2025 – deserves at least similar respect.
I’ll admit it. I am playing the disrespect card. I have seen some of the best NFL coaches – Bill Belichick and Joe Gibbs – ride this to multiple championships. Nobody says the Seahawks were a fluke last year. But almost no one puts them in the top two or three favorites to repeat.
Whether it is mislabeling Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s Offensive Player of the Year award or ranking Seattle behind both Baltimore and Buffalo (and, of course, the Rams) in Super Bowl odds, the NFL world seems intent on keeping Seattle out of the headlines.
That is just fine – at least in most cases. Mike Macdonald’s men will do their talking once the games begin this Fall, just as they did last year. This lack of respect will ensure they do not grow complacent. In terms of team success, it might actually be a good thing.
But for a coach like Durde, the opposite is true. He needs to have his name out there before the public. He needs to be seen as one of the young superstars in the coaching ranks. That is how he will get more interviews and eventually land a top spot. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way. But it is. Public relations matter.
No one batted an eye when Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak got the Raiders' job this offseason. It was seen as well-deserved. Kubiak had worked wonders with a revamped Seattle offense. They finished 8th in the league in total yards and 3rd in points.
Of course, Seattle’s defense finished sixth in yards and first in points.
There are four potential reasons why Durde is being overlooked, and why he may continue to be overlooked throughout the year. Two of them have merit. Two have none.
Durde is an outsider in more than one way. He is British. His football-playing experience came in Europe, as did his early coaching gigs. But he has now been in the NFL for more than a decade, rising in the ranks from intern to Super Bowl-winning coordinator. It is a classic head coaching trajectory and timeline. His “foreignness” should not matter.
Durde is black. That isn’t supposed to matter either. Of the 32 coaches in the NFL, three are black. More than 50 percent of the players in the league are black. You do the math.
On the other hand, Durde’s temperament may not be what certain franchises want. If you want an outgoing type who will rev up a fan base – a Dan Campbell or Jim Harbaugh – you might not rank Durde at the top of your list. Like his current head coach, Durde is not likely to do lots of commentary or commercials. That’s simply a franchise-level preference.
The biggest potential mark against Durde’s head coaching prospects is the tendency of many to put him in Macdonald’s shadow. One of the reasons Kubiak was so obviously vital last year is that he coached offense, while Mike Macdonald was known for his defensive prowess.
There was never any question about Kubiak’s authority or contribution to his unit’s success. But it is reasonable to ask whether Seattle’s defensive success comes as a result of the coach or the coordinator.
Most of the coordinators who have been hired as head coaches over the past two seasons did, in fact, come from the opposite side of the ball as their head coach. But that trend did not prevent Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore, Brian Schottenheimer, and Mike LaFleur from landing top spots. All had been offensive coordinators for teams coached by offensive-minded head coaches.
Can Durde stand on his own? We’ll never know until he gets his chance. But I suspect DeMarcus Lawrence, the player who knows him better than anyone, would offer a full endorsement. Lawrence had played for Durde in Dallas. He has said they entered the league as rookies (one player and one coach) at the same time.
They learned from coordinator Rob Marinelli, just as future head coaches like Mike Tomlin, Raheem Morris and Matt Eberflus have done. Indeed, one of the main reasons Lawrence chose Seattle was his trust in Durde.
Durde interviewed with Cleveland and Atlanta last year. They went on to hire Todd Monken and Joe Brady for their openings. Several of the coaches whose names fill the recent “prospects” lists had five or six interviews this past year. A group of others has never had an NFL head coaching interview.
Regardless, they all got mentioned recently as strong candidates. And Aden Durde did not. There’s something wrong with that.
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