Aden Durde - Defensive Coordinator, seahawks Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-06 | Full transcript (primary source).
Aden Durde, Defensive Coordinator for the Seahawks, addressed the media during a press conference on September 6, 2026. The discussion focused on the team's strategies for handling crowd noise and the impact of new player Turbine Diggs on the team's defensive communication and practice dynamics.
Transcript
Unknown: how's it going long time you uh have been here now a few years and the crowd noise affected the way you guys call games and the way the guys communicate on the field do you feel like there's been changes to how you guys approach crowd noise at home
Durde: yeah definitely i think you just like when i think about these guys is the more intention you put behind something the more like and it's an obvious thing but like you really do get what you emphasize so i think going into these situations we emphasize crowd noise the ability to communicate how we communicate and like the timing of communication a lot more than we did and it's hopefully we'll see.
Unknown: how have you seen the turbine digs kind of adjusted things the last week
Durde: yeah um i think it's more than just the last week since he's got here i think his his intention and the way he approaches practice from the guy i know he's he's pushing it he's trying to he's trying to put his right foot forwards and everyone respects that and he's working on the things he needs to work on daily he's out he was out there just after practice working with the guys like he's done a good job.
Unknown: does he know enough of the defense to play
Durde: yeah he knows he knows enough of the defense.
Unknown: what about where like where he's at from a physical standpoint and getting his legs underneath them
Durde: yeah i thought like the last i would say since the canza city game i've really seen his legs get underneath him like i thought like he came in he hit them two days running just before we played canza city yes canza city and um he hadn't done a lot and you could see that like got some weight on his legs but then he's done a great job.
Unknown: you've seen him at his best he mentioned this obviously he's been like the first one he's had in several years where he's been able to do full season training and everything are you can see a little bit of a former self make is still in there like with him and then
Durde: yeah i think yeah i think he's the player like he's still got it it's just like this he's hadn't played football in a long time it's just gonna it's a process of just getting everything back underneath you having the daily routine of getting your body right and practice and um he's doing that and he's going through the process of that.
Unknown: three years in this system what does that unlock with this defense seems like a lifetime
Durde: um i think um it it allows you it allows an understanding there's a lot of continuity in the players that we have so it allows like a kind of unspoken at times um understanding of what we're doing and why we're trying to do something um i think first of all you kind of when you're learning a system you learn how to operate it and you learn how to like own your role in it and it allows through this time it's allowed people to kind of expand that and say okay can i have add a different role do i do i truly understand like why we call this in what situation so i instead of just doing my job i can make plays within that and um there's certain players doing that right now and we just have to keep going through the process and execute when it's time to execute.
Unknown: where does that show up the continuity of the players in terms of being able to get a game plan in faster in terms of being able to make adjustments in terms of you guys being able to put more on their plates where does it show
Durde: i think it's shown up in different phases throughout the timeline of us being here like i think last year you saw it in position groups like i think like on the back end the guys were way more connected i think on the front end the guys were way more connected ej drake and t-knight patio those guys were way more connected i've seen it this year like the whole defense is more connected like they they do they understand the wires behind why they're the other guys are doing something and they can talk about as a collective so i see the growth as like it's not just like one thing that happens it's just it's more stacking.
Unknown: what have you learned about avery smith over the last week since you guys got him
Durde: i'm great guy um he has an understanding of the defense because there's a lot of concepts and charges that um we have and um he's just pushing it runs the board right type of mentality and i think time will show i think we're going to get a great version of donte i think um when you like when you when i've seen guys play in this league and they they don't bounce around but they play like at different teams and they play at a high level with different teams and they own a role when they get around guys that want to do things together and want to do things the right way energizes them and i see that in donte i see he's got around like laurigan leo j-ree chenna d hall all these guys and they go for it like they compete for snaps but they they respect each other's play enough to say like you can go like you're on i'm going to celebrate your success and that kind of grows you it allows you to it allows you to be the best version of yourself and i'm seeing that in donte.
Unknown: we talked about celebrating success we saw that with this defense lacerate like there wasn't the one guy yeah how much is that kind of sort of defined what the guys up front do playing on each other
Durde: yeah i think um it's their mentality i think they they want to be a dominant unit you have to ask them as well but they do talk about it and we talk about it as a defense i think in their room justin and um josh and cp and those guys they're trying to create a dominant unit up front and that takes like a four is one rush they talk about 12 is one mentality and that's every day and there's an unselfish part to that but you still got to have a mentality that you're going to dominate the game which allows the whole group to dominate the game and they do that on a daily basis.
Unknown: this challenge was talking about the three linebackers what does that give you what what what advantages or maybe even some cons when you go to that
Durde: um i don't think there's cons i think the more the more you have depth in a team and the guys john and the guys just you can see the depth they've put in this team is it raises the level of competition and i think when you've got the right type of people and the right mentality and culture the mic is set competition is good competition is what you want and like i just said with the front it brings the best out of people because you're fighting for snaps you're fighting to get on the field and then what happens is when you get your reps it's like i've been around guys it's like i can't get in the flow you have to get in the flow you have to have the right mindset at the right moment when you touch the grass that i know what the call is i know my job oh i know the look i can operate i could make a play drake done that job's done that tires done that you know like when you take the field it's like make use of the opportunity that you have and then what happens is normally you get more opportunity and i think i think the whole defense grows into that i think he's had a great camp and i think he you see the production he puts on when he when he steps on the grass.
Unknown: you mentioned tie um this is the first time he's kind of entering a season you know as a starter and all that how did you see him really you know kind of embrace that opportunity
Durde: yeah it's cool is um it's like one of the reasons why you like coach like you love coaching you know like when you see it's not just ties drake it's joe this is the guys i just spoke about um and i think when they when you get those guys you see the shift in their confidence and the shift in the way not just the way they um take the field but just the way they operate around the building and the good thing the great thing about tie is like i see him doing what julian and colby and those guys done for him he's breathing life into guys like rodney like aj like when bud was healthy like and he's he's paying it forwards and that that's that's this team and that's that's what's great about it.
Unknown: speaking of those guys you only have three safeties on the 53 right now and nick sucks he's still trying to come back but what have you seen out of aj rodney max and readiness any kind of about that group and what do you like if you need to go to them what book can they kind of add to your readiness
Durde: they like they breathe confidence into us as coaches play callers head coaches on our team i think everyone sees the work they put in and they're ready to take just like we've been speaking about with everyone take the opportunity that arises when it comes up.
Unknown: rodney in particular like what kind of summer has he had what do you think he does best rodney tongues
Durde: yeah i think you see his athleticism in space i think his ability to play basically redline to redline on those deep balls he's um i think he's made huge shrides in his ability to play down on the second level and i'm excited to see him play.
Unknown: was it getting the anthony back obviously yeah something kind of wanted to get down or
Durde: yeah b bells like got so much versatility and um it allows us to do things and put him in spaces at times and he can do multiple jobs and um it's not like he's a jack of all trades master of none no he's a good safety too but it allows you to like move him around in the box and stuff like that.
Unknown: thanks guys