The Seattle Seahawks have a replacement of sorts for Aaron Curry.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz of The Score reported that the Seahawks are hiring Michigan State pass rushing specialist Brandon Jordan. He will be joining a Seahawks coaching staff that recently lost two key defensive coaches — Curry, who was the team’s assistant defensive line coach and associate head coach Sean Desai.
“One of the top pass rush coaches at any level gets his well-deserved #NFL opportunity after years of hard work,” NFL reporter Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston wrote on Twitter.
#Seahawks hiring Michigan State @MSU_Football Brandon Jordan @CoachBTJordan as pass rush specialist coach, per league source. One of the top pass rush coaches at any level gets his well-deserved #NFL opportunity after years of hard work.
ProFootballTalk’s Charean Williams wrote that Jordan’s title as “pass rushing specialist” is a new one for the Seahawks coaching staff.
Seahawks Hire Brandon Jordan as Pass Rushing Specialist
Jordan is leaving Michigan State after just one year on the Spartans’ coaching staff.
That was his first coaching position at an FBS school. Jordan’s football background mostly consists of individually training some of the top NFL pass rushers. Schultz reported that Jordan trained T.J. Watt, Von Miller, Chandler Jones, Cameron Heyward, Jadeveon Clowney, and Maliek Collins.
Those six defenders have earned a combined 11 first-team All-Pro nominations and 24 Pro Bowl appearances. They also have a Defensive Player of the Year award and Super Bowl MVP.
According to sports writer Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News, Michigan State landed three “highly recruited defensive ends” last year because of Jordan’s arrival.
The Seahawks featured a strong pass rush last season, finishing tied for seventh in the NFL with 45 sacks. Seattle was also seventh with a 7.7% sack percentage and 15th with 98 quarterback hits.
But the Seahawks haven’t had a defender reach double digit sacks since 2018. Last season, linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor led the team with 9.5 sacks each.
Jordan should be key to helping the Seahawks get even better at pressuring the quarterback and ultimately helping the defense take another another step back to the championship level the unit reached about a decade ago.
Changes on Seahawks Coaching Staff
The hiring of Jordan comes a couple weeks after the Seahawks lost both Desai and Curry.
Both left Seattle for promotions. The Philadelphia Eagles hired Desai to be the team’s new defensive coordinator while Curry joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as their inside linebackers coach.
Desai was not the defensive coordinator in Seattle, but he was with the Chicago Bears in 2021. And with the Seahawks, according to CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr, Desai played a significant part in the game planning and scheme.
Curry’s background with the Seahawks dates back to before the Pete Carroll era. The Seahawks drafted Curry fourth overall in the 2009 NFL draft. However, he lasted just two full seasons with the team and finished his career with the then Oakland Raiders and New York Giants.
Curry began his coaching career in college and then joined the Seahawks staff as an assistant in 2019.
Jordan won’t be able to replace both of them. More coaching staff additions could be on the horizon for the Seahawks.
But Jordan will help begin fill the void on the staff that both Desai and Curry left behind in Seattle.
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Top Pass-Rushing Specialist Joining Seahawks Coaching Staff: Report