ADEN Durde has an outstanding ambition after winning the Super Bowl – but admits it’s “a gift and a curse.”
The British-born defensive coordinator led the Seattle Seahawks on an epic run to glory in 2025.
His potent Seahawks defense set up a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in February.
The Super Bowl win completed a remarkable rise for Durde from coaching the London Warriors a decade ago.
He began his NFL coaching career as an intern with the Dallas Cowboys and rose through the ranks to become second in command at the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
Durde has been linked with head coach roles – but he told The US Sun that he’s “not sure yet” on whether he’ll take the next step.
“I think you just want to keep doing the work,” he said.
“You obviously want to move forwards, but I love working with the people I work with right now and I just want to keep enjoying.
“When it’s time to change, something will change.”
Instead, Durde was open to the possibility of Seattle featuring in an international game in his home city.
London will stage three more fixtures in 2026 – two at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium.
“I’m from Tottenham so it would be cool,” the coach said. “But it’s a gift and a curse.
“There’s all this exciting stuff you think about, but then you think ‘I’m going to have to see a lot of people.’
“It’s cool to be home. It’s good to see friends and family.
“My brother is six years older than me and an avid West Ham fan – he used to take me to games sometimes.
“My kids are Arsenal fans but they’ve been to West Ham a lot so West Ham is in their heart too.
“I wouldn’t say I watch them all the time – I would love to but I don’t.”
Durde’s main focus now is on his coaching career and plotting Seattle’s path to a Super Bowl repeat in 2026.
Asked whether he thought he would be in this position when he was coaching in London a decade ago, he replied, “Definitely not – not 10 years ago.
“There was a time when I was like ‘I can do this.’
“It’s not necessarily how high you climb, it’s that coaching is coaching and I believes that I could coach.
“I didn’t know where that would take me, but that’s what I believed I could do.
“You start realizing how important the journey is and how important the principles that you instil are and the outcomes that are created.
“The learning that you get from it is that it really is the journey that people talk about.
“They’re the things you truly remember.”
NFL important dates in 2026
Thur 6 Aug – Hall of Fame Game (Carolina Panthers vs Arizona Cardinals)
Wed 9 Sept, 8:20 pm ET – Season opener (TBC at Seattle Seahawks)
Thur 10 Sept, 8:35 pm ET – Australia game (San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground)
Thur 26 Nov – Thanksgiving day triple-header
Sun 10 Jan 2027 – End of regular-season
16-31 Jan 2027 – Playoffs
Sun 14 Feb 2027 – Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
