​(This story is based on a recent Forbes exclusive interview with Superbowl Champion Seahawk Coach Aden Durde. All quotes are taken directly from a transcript of the interview.)A digital display shows the game of Flag football for its feature as one of five new sports at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, during the second day of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai on October 16, 2023. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP) (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesFew people understand that journey better than Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde. Long before he became one of the NFL’s highest-ranking British-born coaches, Durde was simply a teenager traveling across London for the chance to play a sport that barely existed in Britain. Today, after stops in NFL Europe, the Dallas Cowboys organization, the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, the Atlanta Falcons and now Seattle, Durde sees flag football’s Olympic debut as a watershed moment that could reshape football’s global future.SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 8: Defensive coordinator Aden Durde of the Seattle Seahawks arrives to the stadium prior to the NFL Super Bowl LX football game against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)Getty ImagesHis own story illustrates exactly why.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDurde’s football journey began not in packed NFL stadiums but on London’s fragmented amateur football scene, where simply finding a team required determination.”I started playing when I was young,” Durde told Forbes. “Back then a team would pop up, then you wouldn’t have enough coaches, people couldn’t do it, and the team would shut down. I was travelling probably two hours across London to go and play,” he recalled. “Sometimes financially you couldn’t get there. You had to rely on people to give you lifts.”His football life became a series of relocations. One club folded. Another lost funding. Practices required hours of travel across London, often depending on rides from teammates because public transportation costs were difficult to manage. Eventually, Durde landed with the London Olympians, then one of Britain’s premier American football organizations. Everything changed. The Olympians provided elite competition, leading to opportunities in NFL Europe, NFL practice squads and eventually coaching—a path few British players had ever followed, or could even imagine. Today, Durde stands as one of the NFL’s most successful international coaching stories.LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 02: General view inside the stadium prior to the NFL match between Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)Getty ImagesUnlike many former athletes who struggle after retirement, Durde discovered something unexpected. He mis