Seahawks fire defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.

After nine seasons spread across two stints, Ken Norton Jr.'s time in Seattle is done.

The Seahawks fired their longtime assistant and current defensive coordinator on Tuesday, per a team release. They also parted ways with defensive passing game coordinator Andre Curtis.

Norton came to Seattle in 2010 with head coach Pete Carroll after serving under him as linebackers coach and assistant head coach at USC. He spent five years as the Seahawks' linebackers coach before jumping to the Raiders to become their defensive coordinator.

After being fired near the end of the 2017 season, Norton signed on as the assistant head coach with the 49ers but left after just one week when Carroll and the Seahawks came calling. He worked as Seattle's defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021.

Under Norton over those years, the Seahawks' defense ranked 16th, 26th, 22nd and most recently 28th in the NFL in total yardage allowed. They made the playoffs in each of his first three seasons but did not make it in 2021.

Norton played an instrumental role in Seattle's Super Bowl winning season in 2014, and experienced tremendous success before that as a player as well. He won three Super Bowls as a linebacker, the first two with the Cowboys and the third with the 49ers. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro, including a first-team finish in 1995. He was also an All-American college linebacker at UCLA.