Sean Desai, Associate Head Coach-Defense of Seattle Seahawks

South Asian Trailblazers

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In this episode, Simi catches up with a legend in the League, Sean Desai, Associate Head Coach-Defense for the Seattle Seahawks.

Sean has over a decade of experience as a coach at the NFL and collegiate levels. When he became defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2021, he became the first Indian-American NFL coordinator in U.S. history.

Sean joined the Bears in 2013, where he served on staff for 8 years, initially as a defensive quality control coach, before coaching safeties. Previously, he spent the 2012 season as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Boston College. In 2011, he served as Assistant Director of Football Operations at the University of Miami. And prior to this experience, he spent five seasons at Temple University first as a graduate assistant for the Owls’ defensive/special teams and academics. He joined the Seahawks in early 2022.
After graduating from Boston University, Sean earned a master's in higher and postsecondary education from Columbia University before moving onto Temple University where he earned his doctorate in educational administration. In this episode, Simi probes into Sean’s unexpected academic path to coaching and how he thinks critically about representation in sports -- reflecting on a time when his own 4-year-old son asked if he could 'paint his skin white' to make it big in baseball. More in our episode.

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