Lofa Tatupu to become assistant LB coach, per Bob Condotta.

[Jville]

The Journey Continues

 

[volsunghawk]

Most popular assistant linebackers coach in the league.

 

[evergreen]

#51 coaches #51...

 

[Seafan]

Lofa is a guy who has played under Carroll and Norton. After losing Norton I was concerned about who could replace him as the "emotional" defensive coach. Those are huge shoes to fill. Kris Richard obviously brings some of that but it's great to add Lofa.

 

[RolandDeschain]

I hope he does an awesome job. It's really unfortunate how his body broke down.

Welcome back to Seattle, Lofa!!

 

[sturg78]

Still my favorite Seahawk. He wasn't around forever but he was a freakin warrior. Glad he is back where he belongs.

 

[Hawkfan77]

This makes me so happy to hear! I think Lofa will be a great coach, his football IQ is off the charts.

Kudos to whoever called this a few days ago.

 

[chris98251]

You won't be loosing any intensity from coaching with those guys.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Makes sense. Lofa made Pro-Bowls almost entirely on "want to" and football IQ. His skill and mindset should translate well to coaching.

Yup! Average speed and below average size, but he diagnosed plays so quickly and was so strong willed that he more than compensated for it. A natural leader as well. What's not to like about this hire!

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Hmmm ... I'd say that Lofa knows a thing or 2 about linebackers, don't you think?

Tatupu strikes me as a guy who'd be very good as a coach. As a LB, Lofa never had the fastest wheels in the world. What of course made him great was the fact that he had lightning quick recognition skills. He could diagnose so blasted fast and react to it quicker than most. Often times, the most physically talented (those blessed with phenomenal speed or natural god-given talent) don't make the best coaches. That's because they don't have to think about what they do and HOW they do it -- they just perform. Guys who have to work their butts off in trying to make up for elite level freak physical prowess often times achieve greatness because they are very reflective on how they do things. They make good coaches because they able to mentally think through the sequence (or checklist) of what proper technique looks like ... and therefore are better equipped to be able to communicate that to others.

Plus as everyone knows being a MLB, Lofa WAS the captain of that entire Seahawks defense, so knew precisely where everyone was supposed to be on a given play, what their jobs were, the philosophy behind defensive schemes, and understood fairly well how opposing offenses were looking to attack them.

You throw in the fact that Lofa obviously KNOWS Pete Carroll's system and was always a great leader and communicator, and for me that makes this a very intriguing hire.

I know he hasn't had a lot of opportunity as a coach yet, but I have the sneaking feeling that this is one of those moves that in 2 or 3 years time we're going to be saying to ourselves -- Pete Carroll was an absolute genius.

I think he can contribute in a big way immediately. Our DC needs to recognize Lofa's abiltity to break down pass coverage for LBers. Imagine how he would have been against Brady's dinky dunky attack.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

I hope he does an awesome job. It's really unfortunate how his body broke down.

Welcome back to Seattle, Lofa!!

Luke Kuechly's Brain inside of a smaller, slower body.

 

[652cHAWK]

So happy to have him back!

 

[Sarlacc83]

This is awesome. I bet Irvin takes yet another step up next year.

 

[ivotuk]

This is awesome. I bet Irvin takes yet another step up next year.

What he said.

Lofa was the difference maker on the *XL team because he was so smart. He didn't get any offers out of high school so had to to got junior college, put together tape on himself, then send it to USC to get a scholarship. That shows a lot of smarts and desire, not to mention love for the game. Plus his father played in the NFL and was his high school coach. Lofa was a QB in H.S.

"His high school coach was his father Mosi Tatupu, a fullback and special teamer who played for the New England Patriots. As a quarterback, Lofa Tatupu threw for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 450 yards and five touchdowns. As a linebacker, Tatupu made 100 tackles. The Sun Chronicle named Tatupu a local high school All-Star in 1999 and 2000.[2]

College career[edit]
Tatupu spent his freshman year of college at the University of Maine before transferring to the University of Southern California, where he majored in sociology and played for the USC Trojans football team.[2] He wore the number 58, which was later worn by another USC linebacker of Samoan heritage, Rey Maualuga. Tatupu played within the player development program managed by head coach Pete Carroll and assistant head coach for defense and linebacker coach Ken Norton Jr. The USC linebacker system ("USC Linebacker U") has developed many NFL stars, often touted as the most talented linebacker corps in college football.[3][4]

Tatupu started 25 games during his two years for the Trojans. He finished his USC career with 202 tackles, nine sacks, seven interceptions, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 18 pass deflections, and one touchdown.[2] He received first-team All-American honors from Sports Illustrated following the 2004 season."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lofa_Tatupu


"The Seattle Seahawks announced a number of coaching staff changes and additions Monday afternoon, notably making the expected move of promoting secondary coach Kris Richard to defensive coordinator.

The Seahawks also announced that former Seattle linebacker Lofa Tatupu is joining the staff as an assistant linebackers coach to work alongside Micheal Barrow, who will be the linebackers coach, replacing Ken Norton, Jr., who on Friday was named as defensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders.

Seattle also announced that Brennan Carroll, son of head coach Pete Carroll, will be an assistant offensive line coach."


http://blogs.seattletimes.com/seahawks/ ... -to-staff/

ESPN STATS for Lofa

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/i ... ofa-tatupu

 

[rastahawk]

Had to chime in and say I love this hire. I was a bit concerned about losing Ken Norton Jr. He was a big reason why our LB Corps has been a top tier squad consistently. Now that Lofa is there I feel somewhat at ease now.

Glad I kept my Tatupu jersey too!

 

[loafoftatupu]

I bought my Tatupu jersey the day they became available in 2005. I was so proud to be the only guy in the neighborhood with one for the 2 weeks that lasted.

 

[loafoftatupu]

I won't ever forget the Witten tackle short of the first and also the end zone play that ultimately gave us a safety and possession inside the 40 to score quickly after a failed 4th and goal.

 

[Seahwkgal]

My biggest memory of Lofa was in that road game vs Philly where he just went off. He returned an Int for a TD and proceeded to use the goal post as a punching bag in reference to Ken Norton Jr. It is so fitting that he could replace him. I think I will start wearing my Tatupu 51 jersey again now.