Kenneth Howard Norton Jr. (born September 29, 1966) is an American football coach and former linebacker who most recently served as the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) from 2018 to 2021. He is the son of Ken Norton, former world champion heavyweight boxer. Early years Norton Jr. is a graduate of Westchester High School in California, where he played as a running back averaging 8.8 yards per carry as a senior. He went on to play at UCLA from 1984 to 1987, where he was converted to linebacker, the position he would play for the remainder of his football career. Norton was a member of the 1985 conference championship team, and helped the Bruins to four consecutive bowl game wins. He led the team with 106 tackles in 1986 and 125 in 1987. He ranks sixth in school history with 339 career tackles. He was named the team's defensive MVP in 1987, earned All-American honors, and was a finalist for the Butkus Award. Norton was inducted in the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1998. Playing career Dallas Cowboys Norton was drafted in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He spent most of his rookie year on the injured reserve list with a broken thumb. In 1989, Norton and Jesse Solomon shared the weakside linebacker position. He played the first and third quarters, Solomon the second and fourth. In 1990, he became a full-time starter when Solomon held out and was eventually traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A knee injury sidelined him for the last two games of the season. In 1991, he bounced back from knee surgery and was used at strongside linebacker and middle linebacker during that season, eventually settling in at the middle linebacker spot. In 1992, he blossomed as a player and became the leader of the defense, leading the team in tackles with 120 and helping the Cowboys win their first Super Bowl in the 1990s. That year the Cowboys had the number one defense in the league, but no player was voted to the Pro Bowl. He also started doing his trademarked punching of the goal posts or the air, after making good plays. A tribute to his father, the one time boxing heavyweight champion of the world, Ken Norton. In 1993, he had to play through a torn biceps injury,