Raiders Hire Ken Norton Jr. As Defensive Coordinator
ALAMEDA (CBS SF) -- Former San Francisco 49ers All-Pro linebacker and Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Ken Norton Jr. was name defensive coordintor for the Oakland Raiders, the team announced Friday.
Norton Jr. has spent the previous five seasons with Seattle as the team's linebackers coach, helping turn the Seahawks' defense into one of the league's best on their way to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances over the past two seasons.
New Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio and Norton Jr. were linebacker teammates on the Dallas Cowboys between 1989 and 1991.
Norton Jr. spent 13 years in the National Football League as a player, the first six with the Cowboys and the last seven with the 49ers during the heyday of Cowboys-49ers rivalry. He is the only player in NFL history to play on three consecutive Super Bowl-winning teams (Dallas in 1992 and 1993 and San Francisco in 1994).
The former UCLA Bruin began his also began his coaching career at USC, spending six years there as a defensive assistant coach before moving to the NFL coaching ranks.