Chicago Bears 🐻⬇️

Kenny Norton III enters his fourth season with Chicago in 2026, serving in the role of Defensive Assistant.

Kenny Norton III enters his fourth season with Chicago in 2026, serving in the role of Defensive Assistant.

Norton completed his third season with the Bears in 2025, and his first season as a Defensive Assistant, after joining the team in 2023 as a Coaching Assistant. Across Norton's three season with the Bears coaching staff, Chicago ranks second in total takeaways (85) and first in interceptions (56)

In 2025, Norton assisted with a defense that led the NFL in takeaways (33) and interceptions (23), helping the Bears capture their first NFC North title since 2018. The defense was highlighted by a pair of Pro Bowl defensive backs, Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright. Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions earning First-Team AP All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl selection for the third time in his career while Wright also earned a Pro Bowl nod after leading the NFL with eight total takeaways. Spending a lot of his time aiding the defensive line, Norton helped coach DL Montez Sweat to 10.0 sacks on the season. From Week 7 on, Sweat recorded nine sacks, the fifth most in the NFC. Sweat also added a sack in the Bears NFC Divisional Round game, the second postseason sack of his career. He also helped DL Gervon Dexter Sr. (6.0) and DL Austin Booker (4.5) both set new career highs in sacks.

In 2024, Norton served as a Defensive Quality Control Coach, aiding the coaching staff with the day-to-day operation, while helping tutor Chicago's secondary. As a defense, the Bears registered five red-zone takeaways in 2024, tied for third-most by any team in the NFL. The Bears also finished the season ranking third in the NFL in opponent red-zone touchdown percentage (46.0). Chicago's defense helped the Bears close out the season with a Week 18 road victory over the Green Bay Packers, one week after limiting the Seattle Seahawks to just six points scored on Thursday Night Football. A stalwart in the secondary, DB Jaylon Johnson was named to his second-straight Pro Bowl in 2024.

Norton joined the Bears in 2023 as a Coaching Assistant, tasked with providing integral assistance with weekly game preparations and practice plans, as well as with the day-to-day operation. Working with the defensive coaching staff and the defensive line, Norton helped a Bears unit that limited the opposition to an average of just 86.4 rushing yards per game, the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL, and collected the most interceptions in the league (22).

Before his tenure with the Bears, Norton spent one season as a Football Analyst at UCLA (2022), following one season with the Seattle Seahawks (2021). With Seattle, Norton, who initially joined the staff as a Bill Walsh Coaching Fellow during Training Camp, earned a full-season role as Defensive Assistant. Norton entered the coaching ranks at La Salle College High School in Pasadena, Calif., where he served as Director of Football Operations for the program and worked with the secondary.

Norton played collegiately at Azusa Pacific University (2013-17), where he played defensive back. Over his final three seasons, Norton appeared in 33 games for the Cougars, graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration and management. Norton would later earn a master's degree in sports management from the University of San Francisco in 2020.

A native of Santa Monica, Calif., Norton attended Issaquah High School in Bellevue, Wash. Before entering the coaching ranks, Norton spent three years working for NFL Films as a production assistant (2019-21).