Super Bowl 2026: Aden Durde’s amazing journey with the Seattle Seahawks to an NFL Super Bowl

When Durdee returned from additional coaching stints in 2015 and 2016 — with Dallas and the Atlanta Falcons — he continued to work for the NFL in London, where he shared an office with Osei Umenyiora, a two-time Super Bowl winner.

The duo came up with the idea for a program to help international athletes transition to the NFL, a crash course in American football that became known as the International Player Pathway.

Durdy later ran the program, helping Obada sign with the Carolina Panthers in 2017. Later that year, Durdy was the first American football coach to coach former rugby league player Jordan Mailata.

As with Abada, Durdy quickly saw his potential and the Aussie came through the program before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He is now one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL and won a Super Bowl last year.

“Jordan went from not knowing any of the position names to being drafted in four months,” said Henry Hodgson, the NFL’s UK and Ireland general manager, who used to write player memoirs for Durdi on the NFL’s European website.

“For Aden to have uploaded enough of his knowledge for someone to get drafted and go where he is now, that tells you what a great teacher he is.”

It was then that Dordy realized he could become an NFL coach.

“To do this from the UK is unprecedented because there is no clear path,” Hodgson added.

“The fact that Aden has not only done that, but reached the level he is at now, speaks of a single-minded person, who will figure things out on his own and has enough money to make something successful if that is his passion or dream.”

Allen always felt Durdy, who had two head coaching interviews last month, had the “juice” to become an NFL coach.

“He has authenticity and communication skills, and when you have that, you can evoke faith in people,” he said.

“He’s a very honest person and I think a lot of people believe that almost immediately.”