Ken Norton Jr., Seattle Seahawks.
When I was a kid, I don’t remember exactly how old, I read The Whipping Boy in school. I highly recommend it to parents; it’s a sometimes funny and sometimes dark book about compassion. In the book, Jemmy takes the beatings earned by Prince Horace because it’s a crime to strike the prince. Now the Seattle Seahawks reality is mirroring fiction.
Well 12s, word came down that Head Coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider decided it’s time to part ways with their in-house Jemmy. Reportedly, Norton Jr. was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator and designated team scapegoat.
No one can argue that he wasn’t a champion. The son of heavyweight champion Ken Norton, one of a select few that defeated Muhammad Ali, Junior was an All-American linebacker at UCLA. Norton then went on to the NFL and became a two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler. After winning two Super Bowls in Dallas, he got his third ring in San Francisco. Finally, he won a national championship at USC as an assistant coach then earned a fourth Super Bowl ring in Seattle as part of Carroll’s staff.
After Dan Quin left to coach the Atlanta Falcons, Carroll chose Kris Richard to lead the defense, and Norton moved on to Oakland. He lasted less than two seasons with the Raiders and was let go in November 2017 after his defense went almost 11 weeks without creating a turnover. During Norton’s tenure as DC, the silver and black defenses can be described as uneven at best.
After a strange one-week layover as San Francisco’s assistant head coach, he returned to Seattle as defensive coordinator for the 2018 season. Over the last three years, Norton led a feast or famine defense most of the time.
Fans were frustrated by the lack of a pass rush, and opponents piling up yards in his “bend, don’t break” scheme. The once-mighty LOB became DOA. It sure looked like the situation was more of an overmatched coordinator not able to do the job right?
Maybe not.
The Seattle Seahawks’ secondary was falling apart for several seasons, even before Norton arrived. Additionally, the defensive line dwindled to mediocre at best as more and more resources were allocated to the offense. Pete Carroll designed the defense and the scheme, and John Schneider provided the players. It was Ken Norton’s job to make it work. When he didn’t, all the blame fell on him.
Last season Seattle added Carlos Dunlap and Jamal Adams. After Adams returned from injury and Dunlap got acclimated, Seattle’s defense became one of the NFL’S best, helped them win an NFC West title, and hosted the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round. If Norton takes the blame for his team’s first half struggles, he deserves credit for adjusting the scheme and getting things on track in the second half of the year.
This season Norton was asked to make do with the worst group of cornerbacks the Seattle Seahawks had in a decade. They struggled for half the season but again righted the ship in the latter half of the season and did so without Adams. Seattle finished in the top 10 in scoring defense, even though opponents racked up yardage. The “bend don’t break” defense kept the Seahawks in most games.
Unfortunately, the unit often ran out of gas thanks to an offense that couldn’t sustain drives. It’s hard to stay fresh and aggressive when you’re on the field for 40 out of 60 minutes every week.
There were many reasons for the Seahawks losing season. Among the big reasons were Russell Wilson‘s finger, an offense that didn’t find its way until week 15, poor roster construction, etc. The list goes on. Carroll and Schneider were never going anywhere. If Russell Wilson is staying put, someone had to take the blame. One last time for Norton to take one for the entire organization.
In the book, Jemmy, The Whipping Boy eventually has his dreams come true. In real life, he got fired, and the organization starts its search for the next man up. I know many Seattle Seahawks fans are saying good riddance, but it’s not that simple. Ken Norton was no schematic genius, and I don’t think it’s a huge loss to Seattle.
At the same time, his defense was no worse than Seattle’s offense. Jordyn Brooks, Rasheem Green, and Darrell Taylor become valuable players under his tutelage, and the defense was better than it got credit for this year. Goodbye and thanks, Coach Norton. Good luck to the next scapegoat, er, defensive coordinator.
Do you think the Seattle Seahawks were right to fire Ken Norton Jr., or is he a convenient fall guy? Let us know in the comments below.