The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Assistant takes ‘ long road’ fromLondon
In Aden Durde’s youth, he would travel two hours across London to practice and play American football. Access was minimalwhen it came to a sport that British citizens knew of but didn’t play. The NFL was on British broadcast television, but therewasn’t a lot of interest to play among children and teenagers. Those with interest, such as Durde, were deeply committed to the game.
Looking back, it’squite the wonder that someone like Durde, on another continent separated by the Atlantic Ocean, would go from playing in a recreation league to becoming the NFL’s first fulltime British coachwhen the Falcons hired him in 2017.
“It’s definitely been a long road,” Durde said.
When he played for the LondonWarriors, a juniors team, Durde said he had to pay his own way to be able to play. Schools didn’t offer American football, which forced those interested to seek the sport on their own.
In the beginning, Durde didn’t have NFL aspirations. He justwantedto start for the Warriors. Being in England, the NFL didn’t seem like a realistic goal when he first fell in love with the sport. He just loved the game and wanted to win a championship for his club team.
“Everyone there is there because they love the sport,” Durde said of his time as a youngamateur with theWarriors. “They wouldn’t do it otherwise. They’re not just goingtowakeupinthemorning and play American football. Everyone there, it was such a team feeling. When you go over and you coach the people there, they love the game forwhat the game is. It’s quite refreshing.”
But as he progressed and improved, those goals evolved.
Once he won a championship, Durde wanted to break into the now- defunct NFL Europe as a linebacker, which he did with the ScottishClaymores in 2003. After two seasons with the Claymores, hewas with theHamburg Sea Devils from 200507. In 2005, he got to spend some time on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad and joined the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad for the 2008 season.
Following the 2008 season, his six- year professional playing career came to an end. Like every pro athlete, Durde was forced to figure out his next step. As a young player, Durde said his mentality was to “see ball, get ball.” As a professional, he had a lot of good coaches who taught him the intricacies of the game.
In an interesting sense, with all the knowledge he gained, he was more preparedas a player at theendof his career than at the beginning. Becoming a coach was a natural step.
After starting a business and spending a brief time away from the game, he
started coaching with the LondonWarriors, the team he once played for.
“I wanted to stay within the game,” Durde said. “I went down and went back to the team in London, I just started helping the kids out. You get somuch out of it. It’s like a community program here, it’s set up to help kids in a local area, not just play football but find jobs, help them in their schoolwork, and it was quite rewarding, to be honest with you.
“And from there, you got to see howyou can help people grow as people.”
Durde was the London Warriors’ defensive coordinator for six seasons. In 2014, his interest turned back to the NFL by possibly getting some coaching experience through an internship. After taking some international players to a workout in Dallas, he happened to bump into a coaching contact he knew, who helped set him up with an interview with the Cowboys. Not long after, Durde becamea coaching intern for the Cowboys.
And his rise sped up after that.
Afterhisinternshipwiththe Cowboys, hewas offered the headof footballdevelopment job withNFLUK. In that role, he led the International Pathway Program, which helped Britishandotherforeign- born playersgetaccesstoNFLpractice squads.
In the process, Durde helped defensive end Efe Obada ( Carolina Panthers), tightendAlexGray ( Falcons), defensive end Alex Jenkins ( New Orleans Saints), and linebacker Eric Nzeocha ( Tampa Bay Buccaneers) land practice- squad spots. Obada, who also saw practicesquad time with the Cowboys, Chiefs and Falcons thanks to Durde’s assistance, is now on the Panthers’ 53- man roster. He also played a part in getting NFL scouts to notice tight end Moritz Böhringer, who was selected in the sixth round by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2016 NFL draft.
Durde’s introduction to the Falcons came in 2016, when former coach Dan Quinn granted him a spot with the Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship, thanks to a reference fromformer defensive passinggamecoordinator Jerome Henderson. Hendersonknew Durde fromhis stint with the Cowboys.
In 2018, a defensive qualitycontrol spot opened up, with Quinn making him the first- ever British coach in the NFL.
“I didn’t know what to
think ofhim,” defensivecoordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “I just knew he had a British accent, andhewasveryinteresting. But he’s become one ofmy best friends. He’s this transparent human being thatwe all need in our lives. He’s incapable of ( faking it with) anyoneaboutanything. He doesn’t care if you’re the president. He doesn’t care if you’re a CEO. He’s going to tell you what’s on his mind and we all need that.
“It just gives us amazing perspective in aworldwhere we don’t always get the best perspective and we don’t get the best honesty. He’s brought a ton of value to us.”
Over the past three seasons, Falcons interim coach RaheemMorris said Durde, who is now the team’s outside linebackers coach, has shownauniqueabilitytohold other coaches accountable when the time calls for it.
“You can’t have thin skin around ( Durde),” Morris said. “If I do something wrong or I do something he feels we can do better, he’ll be the first person to come sit in my office and tellmewhat his thoughts are andwhat he thinks. Then it’s up to me to take it and use it. And if I don’t want to use it, he doesn’t get sensitive skin. If I do use it, he reconfirms some of the things he comes and tells you that a lot of people don’t want to tell you all the time.”
On Sunday, Durde got his first chance to lead an entire unit as hewas asked to handle in- game decisions with the defensive line. Durde was moved to that spot for the Falcons’ 40- 23 win over the Vikings after defensive line coaches Jess Simpson and Tosh Lupoiwere forced to stay home because of COVID- 19 concerns. Lupoi is expected to coach Sunday against the Lions, whichwill move Durde back to his outside linebackers role.
Whenhe’s able, Durde still helpsoutattheNFLAcademy inLondon, whichhasevolved intoatrainingcenterforinternational players to develop and earn the attention of the 32memberteams. Reflecting on his career, Durde said he never could have guessed he’dwindupas anNFLassistant at the age of 41.
Yet here he is, furthering his success as the first person fromhis country to hold such a position in the NFL.
“I thought there would be a chain of opportunities to get those things to happen,” Durde said. “A lot of it is belief. As youmove forward and progress through things, your vision and idea of what you can be grows.”