British NFL coach Durde 'builds his legacy' with Super Bowl win

Aden Durde became the first British coach to win a Super Bowl title as the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator helped inspire their 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday as he continues to "build his legacy".

Durde's No 1-ranked scoring defense sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times, returned one of two interceptions for a touchdown and stole a fumble in a dominant display in Super Bowl 60.

Durde started his playing career in the UK before competing in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores and Hamburg Red Devils, as well as enjoying spells on the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs practice squads.

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He would later spend six seasons as defensive coordinator of the London Warriors, become the founder of the NFL's International Player Pathway programme before moving into the league's coaching ranks, landing as DC with Seattle this season after stints on staff with the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys.

"There is nobody like him," Phoebe Schecter said on the Inside The Huddle podcast reflecting on the Seahawks' Super Bowl triumph.

"There is nobody who has worked his way up the way that Aden has done, from playing in NFL Europe, and then all the internships, the hard work, the hours that he's put in.

"He got two head-coaching interviews this year. Now imagine if he puts in consistent back-to-back seasons in the way he's done so far, he'll be hard to ignore.

"But it also is the pathways. We talk so much about, 'if you can see it, you can be it', and Aden is doing that.

"I look forward to seeing the amount of people that he's inspiring from what he's done in this Super Bowl."

Durde's defense was relentless in Santa Clara on Sunday night - particularly in the first half. The Patriots punted on eight of their first nine drives, with the 51 total yards gained by the team the fewest in a first half in the last 35 Super Bowls.

Maye also became first player to be sacked three times on the first four drives of a Super Bowl since Tom Brady in Super Bowl 42 against the New York Giants.

"This is an opportunity for us to really give credit where credit is due," Jeff Reinebold added on Inside The Huddle.

"[Head coach] Mike Macdonald deserves a lot of praise for building this defense, and [general manager] John Schneider for bringing in the players, but the guy who coordinates the defense every day is Aden Durde.

"And you look at this defensive effort, the pressures that they brought that the Patriots couldn't pick up. I thought it was an outstanding job by Durde and his defensive staff.

"And I tell you something, the Super Bowl is a defining game. You make your money during the regular season, but you build your legacy in the Super Bowl.

"Well, Aden Durde did that and can now stand up there with guys like Rex Ryan and Buddy Ryan, Wade Phillips, all the great defensive coaches of the past."

Speaking to Sky Sports immediately after the game, Durde was asked if he ever dreamt of being in the position he found himself in, of winning a Super Bowl.

"No, not at all," he said. "I think you take each moment as it is, and this is unbelievable - to have my family with me and to know all my family and the people back home that have supported me are watching.

"I'm just proud of the guys. They made a commitment at the start of the year to push themselves to play like that every play, and today they went out and showed the best version of themselves.

"I appreciate everything they do. I appreciate the work they do, I like the way we all keep each other accountable. We have a common goal.

"When you're pushing like that, and you're getting the results, you're going forward, that's when it happens. It happened for this team, and we've got to now keep pushing."

Darnold with perfect response to Super Bowl doubters

Not only did Seattle boast the league's No 1 defense, led by Durde, but they also ranked third in scoring offense (28.4 per game) and eighth in yards gained (351.4 per game) during the 2025 regular season.

At the forefront of the offense's success is quarterback Sam Darnold, who completed his own remarkable story on Sunday night by lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Darnold endured three turbulent years with the New York Jets upon entering the league at the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, before being cast aside to the Carolina Panthers where he faced a battle for the starting job.

He then served as a backup at the San Francisco 49ers for a year, before his revival came to fruition in a standout playoff-clinching season in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, where his starting opportunity only arose after an injury to JJ McCarthy.

Minnesota, though, put their faith in McCarthy during the offseason as Darnold instead signed a $100.5m deal with the Seahawks.

"What's that old saying? 'How do you like me now?'" Reinebold said on Inside The Huddle.

"'How do you like me now, Jets, Carolina, San Francisco? What about me, Minnesota?' He's now a Super Bowl champion!

"Credit to Darnold, because there were a couple of plays he made that won't show up big on the stat sheet - he got himself out of trouble a couple of times, got a first down and showed all the physical things that made him a first-round draft pick.

"He was the youngest quarterback coming out in the draft that year, and so it's taken a maturation process for him.

"We always talk about in pro football about how they never ask you how, they just ask, 'how many'?

"He's gone one Super Bowl. He's been in one and he's got one. And there are a lot of guys that can't say that."