There will be British representation in the NFL playoffs this weekend when the Seattle Seahawks resume their bid to reach Super Bowl LX.
A decade ago Middlesex-born Aden Durde joined the Atlanta Falcons as part of the Bill Walsh NFL diversity coaching fellowship; these days the former London Warriors coach serves as defensive coordinator of the NFC's No 1-seeded Seahawks, making him the highest-ranked British coach in league history.
Between them Durde and first-year head coach Mike Macdonald have orchestrated football's stingiest No 1-ranked scoring defense, coinciding with a No 3-ranked scoring offense in transforming Seattle into leading Lombardi Trophy contenders.
The NFL and its frenetic nature rarely allows one to pause for breathe, but Durde still affords himself moments in which to acknowledge his unlikely ascent stateside.
"I think sometimes you get reminded of it," he told British media. "People text me from different countries, UK, Europe, and talk to me about football, talk about the opportunities, talk about ways to get there. I think at those times you remind yourself where you came from.
"There's always times during the week. I know it sounds crazy, but week by week, day by day, I kind of take little gratitude moments to think where I am. It blows me away sometimes.
"Saturday night when we played the 49ers, the atmosphere was so electric. To know not where you've come from, but just sometimes to be where I am and where my feet are kind of blows me away."
Durde recalled the, perhaps daunting, first time Dan Quinn asked him to lead a team meeting during their time in Atlanta; he vowed to be himself, to be vulnerable, to be honest.
Come January 2026, as much has seen him earn head coach interviews with both the Falcons and Cleveland Browns.
For now, the playoff blinkers are on.
"I would say seven years, maybe longer, 10 years ago, maybe you'd think about those things," Durde said of prospective head coach ambitions.
"I think once you get here and you're doing it on a daily basis, you start understanding what's important. And what I've learned in the eight years of doing this on a full-time basis is the most important thing is what you're doing at that point in time.
"Right now, I'm having the time of my life. I really am. Coaching the players I get to coach is some of the best time I've had in football. So I don't really think about anything else right now.
"Honestly, if things happen in the future, they happen. It's just like when I was in Dallas, I wasn't really thinking about being a defensive coordinator, I'd love to be lying, and we had a blast every day."
Seattle's defense had ranked third worst in yards, second-worst against the run, eighth-worst in scoring and 21st overall against the pass in the season prior to Durde and Macdonald's arrival in 2024. It is a unit that has been transformed by way of versatility and disguise with simulated pressures and rotating coverages that couple with a league-best third-down rate, their sixth-most takeaways and a sixth-ranked pressure rate in forging one of football's most complete, efficient, mistake-free defenses.
Durde cites Macdonald's '12 is one' mantra when referring to the Seattle ethos.
"We want the teams that play us to feel like there's 12 players on the field, that everyone's running to the ball, everyone's hitting the ball, everyone's physical, everyone's locked in the same mindset.
"He talks about that on a day-to-day basis. We echo the message. I feel like the guys are really turning into the message."
Durde had been defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys before following Macdonald to Seattle upon his appointment as head coach having emerged as one of the hottest commodities in the league during his time as Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator.
"It's kind of been a privilege to be around Mike," Durde continue. "I think we've all grown together. I wouldn't say we're all young, but we're all new in the things that we were doing.
"It's been special to allow us to all grow together. I think Mike's leadership skills, he's honest, he's vulnerable, he demands, he chases edges, he pushes innovation. All these things make you always think, how can you improve? How are you giving the players the best chance to win?
"He guides us and we go attack it. It's been some of my best time coaching football being around him. I've really enjoyed it."
Seattle officially clinched the No 1 seed, a first-round bye and the NFC West title in Week 18 when they beat the San Francisco 49ers 13-3 by way of another suffocating defensive display.
Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori starred on the day in a performance that would epitomise the field-muddying flexibility of Seattle's defensive personnel and his own ability to impact the game from multiple alignments.
The second-round pick out of South Carolina has split his time between slot corner, in the box, free safety, outside and even up front on the defensive line, his Big Nickel attributes a dream to any coach seeking versatility in their scheme.
"I think as you go in and you get a rookie, expectations are kind of, they're not dangerous, but it's not expectations, it's more like 'What can this kid do, how can you allow him to play fast, and then what's the development plan for the kid?'" said Durde.
"Nick, you see his physical traits and his physicality and his ability to play football. But one of the best traits, I think, is his ability to take in information and then execute it. He does it at every level of the defense and he excels.
"You create this development plan and then suddenly he starts growing and you can put a little bit more on his plate, see if he still can play fast. And as we've done that, he's excelled."
With youth also comes experience on a defense that has seen Demarcus Lawrence assert himself as one of the free agency pickups of the season having previously worked with Durde in Dallas.
The 33-year-old has six sacks, 20 quarterback hits and a tied team-high 11 tackles for loss amid his 12th season in the NFL.
"He's exactly the player that we thought he was," said Durde. "I just feel if you watch his body of work on all the tape that you watch from Dallas for the last six years, he does the same thing down in, down out.
"He's a relentless effort player. He plays with excellent technique on first and second down, and then on third down, he has the ability to rush from any spot. He has been a huge addition to this defense, not just by his play, but by his leadership, the way he turns up to practice, the way he attacks individuals, the way he competes, the way he wants to win.
"He's been some of the places that we're going now, and his experience will help the young players."
The Seahawks will face the 49ers for the third time this season when they meet in the Divisional Round of the playoffs on Saturday night.
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