Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is getting some help from Nick Saban’s coaching tree as the team is on the verge of hiring Karl Scott as their new defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach, per On3 Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Scott was the Vikings secondary coach last season and previously spent three seasons under Saban at Alabama.
The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta reported the deal has yet to be made official while adding the Seahawks are also considering adding former Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai in a different role.
“My understanding is Seahawks have been talking to Scott but nothing is official yet,” Condotta tweeted on February 8. “And my understanding is this doesn’t preclude Sean Desai still coming to Seattle if he’s available.”
One of the players Scott coached at Alabama was future Cowboys star cornerback Trevon Diggs. While at Alabama, Diggs praised Scott’s coaching style calling him a “really good coach.”
“He’s a really good coach, I like him a lot,” Diggs said during an August 15, 2018 press conference. “He gonna coach you before he yell at you. But I like him, he’s a real teacher. He’s gonna teach you, he learning just like us. He’s one of those coaches you can go into his office, go look at film, go over the plays. So, I like him a lot. I really like his style of how he coach.”
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The Seahawks May Still Add Desai to the Defensive Staff
Sports Illustrated’s Corbin Smith added that Desai joining the Seahawks likely depends on whether he is able to land a defensive coordinator job elsewhere. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Desai interviewed for the Vikings defensive coordinator vacancy.
“One thing I can confirm is that Desai isn’t out of the picture yet for Seattle until he accepts a defensive coordinator job,” Smith detailed in a series of February 8 tweets. “He interviewed with Vikings and is considered a finalist for that job…
“For those hoping Seattle would bring in younger coaches from the outside, Desai and/or Scott would certainly check off that box. Desai, 37, comes from the Vic Fangio tree, while Scott, 36, worked under Nick Saban at Alabama for three seasons.”
The Seahawks Will Have Nearly an Entirely New Defensive Staff in 2022
While the Seahawks opted to promote defensive line coach Clint Hurtt to the defensive coordinator role, the staff underneath him will be almost a complete overhaul. Scott joins former Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell as new members of Hurtt’s staff.
Hurtt and Donatell both have ties to Vic Fangio and are expected to implement his defensive scheme with the Seahawks. The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta and Adam Jude detailed what Seahawks fans can expect with this revamped defensive game plan.
“Fangio’s scheme is generally described as one that features predominantly zone defensive looks out of a two-high safety defense, but with lots of variety,” Condotta and Jude explained on February 4. “The Seahawks favored a Cover Three defense this season, meaning three players deep with each covering a third of the field.
“The Los Angeles Rams revived their defense in 2020 by hiring away Fangio disciple Brandon Staley, who worked with Fangio with the Bears and Broncos. Staley had so much success with the Rams that he left after a season to become the Los Angeles Chargers coach.”
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Seahawks Hire Former Alabama Coach, More Changes Coming: Report