Report: UCLA to bring back team Hall of Famer as key defensive assistant

Ken Norton Jr. is reportedly heading back to UCLA.

Norton is joining the Bruins staff as linebackers coach, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. He spent the last seven years in the NFL as a defensive coordinator with the then-Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks.

SOURCE: UCLA is expected to hire Bruins great Ken Norton Jr as the new linebackers coach. The Bruin Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champ has spent the past decade coaching in the NFL with the last 7 yrs as a defensive coordinator.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 24, 2022

Norton starred for UCLA from 1984-87 and helped the Bruins to four straight bowl games over his time in Westwood. He’s sixth in program history with 339 career tackles and was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1998.

After his collegiate career, Norton played in the NFL from 1988-2000 with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. During that time, he won three Super Bowls and made three Pro Bowl appearances before jumping into coaching in 2004 with USC.

Norton worked for the Trojans from 2004-09 as linebackers coach and, eventually, assistant head coach before heading to the Seattle Seahawks as linebackers coach. He remained in that role from 2010-14 before heading to Oakland as a defensive coordinator. He returned to Seattle from 2017-21 before the Seahawks fired him after this past season.

UCLA is coming off an 8-4 overall season in 2021, including a 6-3 record in Pac-12 play. The Bruins were ready to play in the Holiday Bowl before COVID-19 issues with NC State forced its cancellation.

Report: Former Pac-12 coordinator joining UCLA staff as analyst

Former Colorado offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini is moving on to his next venture. According to FOX’s Bruce Feldman on Wednesday, Chiaverini is expected to join Chip Kelly at UCLA as an offensive analyst.

“SOURCE: Former Colorado offensive coordinator/WR coach Darrin Chiaverini is expected to join the UCLA staff as an offensive analyst,” tweeted Feldman. “Chiaverini, a Southern California native, had been a Bruins special teams assistant early in his coaching career after playing in the NFL.”

Moreover, Chiaverini is no stranger to UCLA. He spent one season with the Bruins in 2009 as a special teams assistant. As you can see, he went on to bigger and better things after leaving UCLA over a decade ago.

First, his first real opportunity came at Riverside City College, where he spent three seasons as the associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and special teams coach. Then, he took his talents to Texas Tech in 2014, spending two seasons with the Red Raiders as their special teams coordinator. Then, he was hired by Colorado, the program where he worked from 2016 until this offseason.

Moreover, Chiaverini accumulated numerous roles throughout his time with the Buffaloes. At one point, Chiaverini was even the interim head coach for the program. Now, he’s moving on to a different Pac-12 program.