Report: Seahawks hiring ‘Pass Rush Specialist’ who worked with Von Miller, TJ Watt, and others,

Jordan formerly held this role at Michigan State and has worked with a number of high profile pass rushers

The Seattle Seahawks are turning to unconventional means to improve their pass rush. Last year, the team posted 45 total sacks during the regular season — good enough to tie for 7th in the league, according to ESPN. However, the sack totals don’t fully reflect the uneven performance of the pass rush, overall. In an effort to further improve this aspect of their defense, the team is bringing in Michigan State pass rush specialist, Brandon Jordan, to take on this same role with the Seahawks. This was first reported by Jordan Schultz and later confirmed by Michigan State beat reported Stephen Brooks.

Brandon Jordan has worked mostly under the radar outside of league circles, but his track record speaks for itself. Formerly an offensive linemen, Jordan turned to coaching the defensive line during the early 2010s, according to Bruce Feldman the Athletic. Feldman goes on to detail how Brent worked at a local New Orleans high school and saw a number of his players turn into highly recruited Division I prospects. This led to him founding the ‘Brandon Jordan Trench Performance’ company in 2018. Apparently, Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison was impressed by the workout videos that Jordan was posting online, and ended up meeting him at Aqib Talib’s training facility in Dallas. The veteran nose tackle saw an immediate improvement in his pass rushing production after working with Jordan. According to Harrison via Feldman:

“When I came back even the coaches were shocked and surprised—Oh, man, when did you learn how to do that? Guys started seeing me retweeting the videos or posting the videos and began asking me slowly, ‘Who is that guy?’ I was getting text messages and (DMs) in my inbox — even guys asking on the field after games, ‘Who is that guy?’ It’s B-Jordan. He’s down in Dallas and word spread pretty quickly.”

Feldman goes on to detail how Jordan’s notoriety around NFL circles only increased following this, leading to the opportunity to work with some of the league’s top pass rushers. The list included Von Miller, Gerald McCoy, Ed Oliver, TJ Watt, Chandler Jones, and Jadeveon Clowney, among others. In addition to this, he helped Rashan Gary prepare for the 2019 NFL Draft in advance of his selection at 12th overall by the Green Bay Packers. Reportedly, players love working with him, and he has built a reputation for being relatable and always willing to learn from even the most experienced veterans who he has coached.

The Seahawks have some young, ascending pass rushers on their team, and may add even more during the upcoming draft, so this sounds like a promising hire to me. For a defense that ranked 19th in Dropback EPA per play, according to rbsdm.com, any improvement in 2023 will be welcome. Brandon Jordan will get to work with Darrell Taylor and Uchenna Nwosu, as well as second year guys Boye Mafe and Tyreke Smith. Furthermore, given that the Hawks hold five picks in the top 100, it is very likely that they will add even more depth to their front seven in April. Hopefully, Jordan’s presence will help turn the pass rush into a consistently threatening unit once again.