Obituary: Seahawks great Kennedy, 48, found dead
Cortez Kennedy was a hulking force at defensive tackle, the cornerstone of a franchise that had little to cheer about for most of his playing career.
And yet what Kennedy accomplished as a player with the Seattle Seahawks — which was good enough for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — was secondary to the affable personality that made him a revered figure long after his career ended.
Police in Orlando, Fla. said the 48year-old Kennedy was found dead Tuesday morning. Orlando Police Department public information officer Wanda Miglio said the circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown but that there is nothing suspicious about it. An investigation is being conducted.
“The full story lies in his loving, fun, positive and giving heart,” said New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, who worked for the Seahawks during Kennedy’s playing career. “In my many years working in the NFL, no one better exemplified what it meant to be a great player on the field, and yet that paled in comparison to what Cortez meant to the people who knew him off the field.”
A star who spent his entire 11-year NFL career in relative obscurity playing in Seattle, Kennedy was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. With a low centre of gravity, unexpected quickness and remarkable strength packaged in a 6-foot-1, 300-pound frame, he was an unmovable wall as a dominant defensive tackle. Away from the field, he was a quiet, gentle soul never interested in finding himself in the spotlight.
“Cortez Kennedy has been a pillar of the Seahawks franchise since joining the team as a rookie in 1990,” the Seahawks said in a statement. “Tez was the heart and soul of the Seahawks through the 1990s and endeared himself to 12s all across the Pacific Northwest as a player who played with a selfless and relentless approach to the game . . . We are proud to have been represented by such a special person.”
For much of his career, Kennedy was the reason the Seahawks were relevant. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler and was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1992. That season was made even more remarkable by the fact that his 14 sacks, 27 tackles for loss and 92 tackles came for a 2-14 team that was among the worst ever offensively in a 16-game season.
Kennedy was a mainstay around the Seahawks during training camp and would occasionally roll through the locker room during the regular season grabbing a few minutes with anyone — players, coaches, media — up for a chat.
“He always had a smile on his face. There was no arrogance about him at all. Not at all,” said Dennis Erickson, who coached Kennedy at both the University of Miami and in Seattle . “He wouldn’t think he was as good as he was . . . He was just a great young man. He was one of the closest guys I’ve been around in coaching. I was close with his family and he was close with my family and we kept in touch all these years. It’s hard to describe him. They don’t make them like him anymore.”
Several Seattle players took to social media to express their shock and sadness at the loss of a mentor.
“My heart hurts,” current Seahawks centre Justin Britt tweeted. “We lost a truly great player but even better person.”