The sting of such a tragic ending to the efforts of the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX will surely be something everyone in the organization uses to fuel the team heading into next season. What’s done is done as now the focus shifts to continuing to build upon what the Seahawks have accomplished over the past few seasons. Things will be somewhat different yet the same however with a new defensive coordinator in town that will stick to what works while adding a unique approach to one of the best defenses to hit the NFL in quite some time.

New defensive coordinator Kris Richard has some pretty big shoes to fill. He fills in for Dan Quinn who left this offseason to be the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Richard doesn’t need to make any drastic changes to the Seahawks’ 4-3 defense since most of the players that make it so tough are still in place to continue the aggression.

The secret to what makes the Seahawks’ defense so potent is the fact that they can be aggressive without having to have extra players blitzing. Everyone takes great pride in executing their assignments flawlessly which yields incredibly results thanks to all the attention to detail when it comes to coverage.

In an article written by 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brady Henderson, here is what Richard had to say about what to expect on defense come next season:

“Obviously, the best way is is just to get your ends outside and just let them roar up the field. There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “Bruce Irvin, Cliff Avril, guys of that nature, just letting them pin their ears back, stick their foot in the ground and go after the quarterback. But aside from that, just letting those guys game it up front. And really, great coverage, great coverage. If we cover, we force the quarterback to hold the football, that gives our guys a real good chance up front to get after the quarterback.”

The Seahawks continue to prove that they can win plenty of football games defensively by not having to blitz on every single down. Considering that the Seahawks are in the bottom quartile of the league when it comes to blitzing, proves that it can be effective even though other teams can’t seem to replicate what they do so naturally.

Richard will inherit a team that should continue being on top of the league when all is said and done without having to change any of the fundamentals. Head coach Pete Carroll has found much success since he lets his coordinators do what they feel is best. Richard will thrive in his new role since he was promoted after being their defensive backs coach for the past two seasons.

Overall, expect things to stay pretty much stay the same but with Richard’s unique approach to get the job done with even less blitzing this time around. It’s all about trusting your players to execute and putting them in a position to succeed. This team won’t miss a beat at all defensively, even with a new coordinator in town that knows if it ain’t broke, there is no need to fix it.