Taking over for the departed Dan Quinn, the team's former defensive backs coach "has the respect of the whole room being how he was the one who came in the beginning with all of us," said Richard Sherman, per ESPN.com.
Sherman credited Richard with molding a cast of mid- and low-round picks -- Sherman and Kam Chancellor were fifth-rounders, Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane were sixth-rounders and Brandon Browner hailed from the CFL -- into the league's most fearsome secondary.
"The only first-round guy that anyone ever knew about was Earl (Thomas)," Sherman said. "Now everyone is like, 'Oh you guys have this big-time secondary.' Where were you guys at in 2011 when no one knew us from nobody.
"I think (Richard's) growth with us through that process to where we are now is the reason we respect him so much. He kind of built the giant that we are now with discipline, attention to detail, always being on it and always keeping us humble and down to earth, especially in the meeting room and making sure we understand our strengths, our weaknesses, what we do well and what we don't do well."
Chancellor praised Richard as a "student of the game" who "has our best interest and put us in situations where we can capitalize on our strengths."
Those wondering if Seattle's defense would tail off when Quinn took over for Gus Bradley saw it only grow mightier. That's a trend that might continue under Richard considering how young this core is -- and how open they are to his leadership.
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