Seahawks give assistant Rocky Seto a promotion
Feb 10, 2015, 5:02 PM | Updated: 5:12 pm
The Seahawks have named Rocky Seto assistant head coach/defense, a promotion from his previous role. (AP)
(AP)
BY
Former Seattle Sports Lead Editor
The coaching moves keep on coming for the Seahawks, who on Tuesday announced that Rocky Seto has been promoted to assistant head coach/defense.
That announcement comes a day after the Seahawks promoted Kris Richard to defensive coordinator and hired three other assistants, a series of moves triggered by Dan Quinn’s departure to Atlanta to become the Falcons’ head coach. Seto was mentioned as a possible successor to Quinn, and while he didn’t get Seattle’s defensive coordinator job, he did get a promotion.
Seto, 38, becomes the second member of Seattle’s staff with the title of assistant head coach. Offensive-line coach Tom Cable is the other.
Seto was previously the Seahawks’ defensive passing game coordinator, a role he filled the last two seasons. He’s a long-time friend and associate of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, with whom he began working in 2001 at his alma mater, USC. Seto was the Trojans’ defensive coordinator during Carroll’s final season at USC in 2009. He joined Carroll in Seattle in 2010, starting as a quality control coach on defense then working with safeties before being elevated to his most recent position.
The week before the Super Bowl, Carroll talked about what Seto has meant to his coaching staffs through the years.
“First off, Rocky Seto, he’s been a part of our staff since I arrived at USC,” Carroll said. “He came on as a graduate assistant way back in the day. He had played at USC and been part of the administrative staff. So, I watched him grow up in our system. He has become really the keeper of the records. He’s got all the information. He knows everything we’ve ever done and how we’ve done it. He’s a tremendous resource for us to always stay in touch with the principles and the philosophy and all that.
“He’s been the passing game coordinator. He’s been a special confidant to me to maintain our language and our belief because he goes back the furthest with me. He’s been a great friend. He’s been a great coach for us. He’s been a very integral part of everything that we do. He has meetings with the team every day. He has something, a certain part of our meetings that he does and presentations and stuff. He’s a big factor for us. He’s a great football coach.”
