Why British coach is ‘game-changer’ for Super Bowl winners & NFL

While most of the Seattle Seahawks’ staff charged on to the field at the end of Super Bowl 60, Aden Durde took a moment for himself.

He was congratulated by one colleague but then threw his headset on to a sideline bench at Levi’s Stadium, sat down and gazed skywards.

As fireworks and confetti filled the Santa Clara air, a smile spread across the Briton’s face as it dawned on Durde what he had achieved.

The 46-year-old from north London had just become the first overseas coach to win American football’s biggest prize.

It was a dream fulfilled, one that began with watching a video of the Chicago Bears team that won the Super Bowl in 1986.

Some 40 years on, now he too is a Super Bowl champion and is inspiring others outside the US to follow their NFL dreams.

“It feels amazing,” he told BBC Sport. “I’m still trying to process it.

During five years as defensive co-ordinator of the London Warriors, Durde was able to earn coaching internships with the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons, before the latter made him Britain’s first full-time NFL coach in 2018.

He progressed through roles with Atlanta and Dallas before Seattle’s new head coach Mike Macdonald made Durde his defensive co-ordinator in 2024.

‘AD’, as he is known at the Seahawks, has since helped create a defence he describes as “fast, physical, ball-hungry, and they work as a collective”.

“AD is an absolute game-changer for us,” said Macdonald on Monday. “It’s not just an incredible story that got him to this point, it’s him as a football mind, a football coach.

“He’s someone that has really brought us together, and the way that our defence plays inspired football is a great tribute to how AD operates, and what he brings to our football team and our organisation. I’m really happy for AD.

“He’s just an absolute beast and he’s so much fun to work with. He’s right there alongside, building this whole thing. It’s been a special journey.”

The Seahawks dominated the New England Patriots to win 29-13 on Sunday, but Durde has not just become a Super Bowl champion, he has helped forge a defence that will go down in NFL folklore.

Seattle’s defence has been dubbed ‘the Dark Side’ and produced a performance long-time NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth said was “as good as I have ever seen”.

As he finished speaking to reporters after Sunday’s game, with a British flag around his waist, Durde admitted he felt emotional.

“I’m trying to hold it back, I just want to get out of here,” he joked.

NFL analyst Phoebe Schecter used to coach with Durde on the NFL’s International Player Pathway programme and shared a moment with him on the field.

“As someone that’s known him for quite some time, [I know] he doesn’t like to be emotional, but he couldn’t help himself,” she said.

“The moment is so big, the achievement is so big, and he knows that he’s made history.”

Durde has spoken about being the best he can be, to make it easier for others to follow his lead, and Schecter is excited about what Durde’s story means for the international game.

“Aden’s great because he’s not just thinking about himself in the moment,” Schecter said.

“For years he’s been thinking about other people, building the NFL Academy and the International Player Pathway programme. He’s constantly sending that elevator back down.

While working with NFL UK, Durde shared an office with two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora and they founded the IPP programme.

“I remember Osi telling me about [Durde] back in the day and then followed his journey,” said NFL executive Peter O’Reilly.

“How talented he is and how well respected he is by his players, and what a great person he is, that just makes him someone you want to root for.”

The IPP helped Britain’s Efe Obada and Australia’s Jordan Mailata get into the NFL, and former rugby league player Mailata won a Super Bowl last year with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Whether it’s coaching or playing, having those role models, those local heroes, where someone in the UK can look up and say ‘OK, there’s a path for me’, is really important – like last year for a young Australian looking at Jordan Mailata,” O’Reilly added.

“The IPP is also a great breeding ground for international coaches. You want that mix of coaches, and we’ve been in engaged in how we build that pipeline, making sure programmes for coaching development are not just US-based but global.”

Once Durde joined Seattle’s on-field celebrations at Levi’s Stadium, he was joined by his wife Kate and their two sons.

Their eldest son, Kane Doyle-Durde, now works as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys and their youngest Dylan is working in coaching.

“We just hugged, we were grateful for the moment,” said Durde.

“A lot of people have sacrificed a lot for me to be sitting here, but you don’t see all the people around me that helped me get here. I’m very grateful for them.”

They include many back in the UK, who Durde aims to catch up with now the NFL season is over.

“I’ve got to get back to London, get this mayhem out of the way,” he laughed. “I need to go home.”

In particular, Durde is looking forward to seeing his close friend Marvin Allen, one of a few Britons to own a Super Bowl ring having been on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad when they became NFL champions in 2009.

Durde had two interviews for head-coach positions during the current hiring cycle and – although he is set to remain with Seattle next season – Allen is confident he will become the NFL’s first overseas head coach.

“Aden has come from obscurity to take an American sport by storm,” he said.