Seahawks promote Clint Hurtt to coordinator, add Sean Desai, Karl Scott to defensive staff
Pete Carroll officially continued his ways of finding Seahawks defensive coordinators.
Seattle’s 70-year-old boss brought another young coordinator in, too, from Chicago as part of youthful turn on his defensive staff.
The Seahawks on Tuesday announced what a league source had told The News Tribune two weeks earlier: the team promoted defensive line coach Clint Hurtt to be its new defensive coordinator.
The 43-year-old Hurtt replaced Ken Norton Jr., whom Carroll fired last month after four seasons in the job.
The Seahawks also announced Tuesday they hired 38-year-old Sean Desai as associate head coach for defense. Desai spent last season as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator. From 2013-20 Desai worked with Chicago’s defensive backs.
That’s what Karl Scott will now coach for Seattle. The team named Scott, 36, the defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach. Scott was the defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings this past season.
Carroll has redesigned the leadership of what was the NFL’s 31st-ranked defense in 2021. He again hired one of his former defensive line coaches to be a new coordinator. That’s what he did with Dan Quinn before Quinn coordinated Carroll’s defense into consecutive Seahawks Super Bowls in the 2013 and ‘14 seasons.
Hurtt and Desai were on the same Bears defensive staff from 2014-16. Hurtt was Chicago’s assistant defensive line coach then outside linebackers coach those two seasons.
Carroll mentioned Hurtt’s and Desai’s relationship in announcing their hiring. It appears Hurtt will maintain his experience with the defensive front seven while Desai and Scott design much of the Seahawks’ ways in pass coverage with the defensive backs.
Carroll also mentioned starting anew. He wants a more aggressive approach for a defense that failed to consistently pressure quarterbacks and produced a franchise record-low 18 sacks in 17 games this past season.
“The fresh start feels exciting,” Carroll said in a statement released by the team, “and we’re looking forward to guys stepping up into their roles.
“The newness with Clint taking over on defense and working together with an old friend of his in Sean Desai gives us a really exciting outlook for the future. Being able to bring in a guy the caliber of Karl Scott to take over the secondary, we’re very fortunate to have landed him as the passing game coordinator.”
On offense, what became known Friday became official Tuesday: 2021 run game coordinator Andy Dickerson replaces Mike Solari as Seattle’s offensive line coach. Dickerson joined the Seahawks’ staff before last season, coming with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron from the Los Angeles Rams.
Running backs coach Chad Morton gets the additional title and role of run game coordinator on the offensive staff in 2022.
The Seahawks also brought back an assistant on their offensive staff. They re-hired Sanjay Lal, to be the receivers coach and offensive passing game coordinator. In 2020 Lal was a senior offensive assistant for Carroll with Seattle. Lal spent last season as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ receivers coach. He has previously been that for the Raiders, Jets, Bills, Colts and Cowboys.
Nate Carroll, the coach’s son who was receivers coach previous, is now a senior offensive assistant.
Hurtt’s, Desai’s and Scott’s jobs leading the Seahawks’ defense in 2022 is to get them more varied, more aggressive and just plain better to begin the season. Seattle has been on paces to allow the most yards and points in NFL history over the first months of the last two seasons.
Hurtt is the most senior member of the Seahawks’ defensive staff. Carroll gave Hurtt the additional title of assistant head coach to get him to Seattle in 2017.
Hurtt is in the mold of Quinn: a younger D-line coach with charisma and enthusiasm Seahawks players love. He relates personally with his players on matters in and out of football. He is often seen laughing with his linemen but also barking at them and intricately involved with them in practices and games.
