Kennedy Polamalu was hired as running backs coach on February 22, 2024. He enters his 33rd season in coaching at both the NFL and collegiate levels, and spent two seasons (2022-23) as running backs coach with the Las Vegas Raiders prior to joining the Seahawks.

Kennedy Polamalu was hired as running backs coach on February 22, 2024. He enters his 33rd season in coaching at both the NFL and collegiate levels, and spent two seasons (2022-23) as running backs coach with the Las Vegas Raiders prior to joining the Seahawks.

In 2023, Polamalu helped RB Zamir White record two 100-yard rushing performances in two of his first four starts. White became the only player in Raiders history to record multiple 100-yard games in his first four starts.

In his first season with the Raiders in 2022, Polamalu led a running back unit that combined for 2,059 yards and 12 touchdowns, the most rushing yards in a single season for the Raiders since 2011 (2,110). Polamalu saw RB Josh Jacobs rush for a career-high 1,653 rushing yards to become just the third player in franchise history to win the league rushing title en route to first-team AP All-Pro honors and his second career Pro Bowl. His 1,653 rushing yards were the most in a single season since Marcus Allen rushed for 1,759 yards in his 1985 MVP season. Jacobs also recorded 93 rushing first downs, the most in the NFL.

Prior to arriving in Las Vegas, Polamalu spent five seasons as the running backs coach with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2021, Polamalu coached Vikings RB Dalvin Cook to his third-straight 1,000-season, as the veteran back totaled 1,159 yards on the ground to rank fifth in the NFL. Cook carried the ball 20 or more times in seven different games and totaled six touchdowns on the ground. Additionally, Polamalu aided RB Alexander Mattison in setting a career high with 491 rushing yards and Mattison combined with Cook to account for 66 receptions out of the backfield.

The 2020 Vikings offense established a balanced attack and Cook enjoyed a career-best 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. Cook earned a second-straight Pro Bowl berth and All-Pro accolades. Cook ranked second in the NFL in rushing and posted the third-best mark in team history despite missing two games. He ranked second in NFL scrimmage yards and broke the 100-yard rushing mark eight times. Cook's 16 rushing touchdowns tied for second in the NFL and ranked second in team history. His 108 points ranked tied for second in the NFL. The Vikings' fifth-ranked rushing attack helped the club rank No. 4 in the NFL in total offense, the highest ranking since 2004.

In 2019, Polamalu coached Cook to a breakout season as he was named as a Pro Bowl starter after leading all non-quarterbacks in fan voting. FB C.J. Ham also was named to the Pro Bowl. Cook finished the 2019 regular season with 1,135 rushing yards, 10th-most in the NFL, and became the eighth player in franchise history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. Cook also became one of nine players in NFL history to record 500-plus rushing yards and 200-plus receiving yards in the first five games of a season. He became the fifth player in NFL history to open a season with three consecutive games of 110-plus rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, joining Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Curtis Martin, O.J. Simpson and Emmitt Smith.

The 2018 backfield workload was split equally between veteran Latavius Murray and Cook as he returned from a knee injury suffered early in his rookie season. Cook posted 163 scrimmage yards with 136 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to earn his first NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

In his first season with the Vikings in 2017, Cook set a team record for rookies with 288 yards in the opening three games of the season but was lost to injury for the season in the fourth game. Cook's production was replaced by the duo of Murray (842 yards, eight touchdowns) and Jerick McKinnon (574 yards, three touchdowns) who combined for 1,412 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Murray carried the load with a team-high 216 attempts and 842 yards.

Under Polamalu's guidance at UCLA, RB Paul Perkins became the first Bruin since DeShaun Foster (2000-01) to register consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons and the first running back in program history to record 80 career receptions. Perkins, who was selected by the New York Giants in the 2016 NFL Draft, earned second-team All-Pac-12 recognition after rushing for 1,343 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. In 2014, Perkins experienced a breakout campaign, becoming the second player in school history to lead the Pac-12 in rushing with 1,575 yards.

Prior to his second UCLA stint, Polamalu was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at his alma mater, USC, from 2010-12. In Polamalu's system, QB Matt Barkley became the all-time leading passer in school and conference history, throwing for 12,327 yards and 116 touchdowns. In 2011, Barkley finished sixth in the Heisman voting after completing 308 of 445 passes for 3,528 yards, 39 touchdowns (school record) and a 69.2 percent completion rate (school record), leading the Trojans to a No. 6 finish in the AP poll.

Polamalu previously coached the running backs in Jacksonville (2005-09) and Cleveland (2004). The Jaguars totaled the third-most rushing yards (133.7 ypg) and second-most rushing touchdowns (95) in the league from 2005-09, and two Jacksonville running backs earned Pro Bowl nods during that span: Fred Taylor (2007) and Maurice Jones-Drew (2009). In his Pro Bowl season under Polamalu, Jones-Drew rushed for 1,391 yards (4th NFL) and 15 touchdowns (2nd NFL). With the Browns, they were one of seven NFL teams with multiple 500-yard rushers: Lee Suggs (744) and William Green (585).

Polamalu has deep roots at USC where he was a player and was involved in coaching or recruiting Heisman winners Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. He also recruited the heralded 'Thunder and Lightning' backfield of Bush and Lendale White. He joined USC for the 2000-03 seasons, coaching running backs and special teams during that span. Prior to joining the USC coaching staff, Polamalu served as Colorado's running backs coach for two seasons (1997-98) between stints at San Diego State as the linebackers coach (1999) and running backs coach (1994-96).

A native of Manu'a, American Samoa, he attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., where he was an All-American in football, lettered in basketball and track, and served as the student body president. Polamalu played fullback and linebacker at USC from 1982-85, graduating with a bachelor's degree in history. His nephew, Troy Polamalu, played at USC and played 12 seasons in the NFL, winning two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers and earning induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Brother, Ao Polamalu, played football at Penn State and nephew, Nicky Sualua played running back at Ohio State before playing for the Bengals and Cowboys in the NFL. His great nephew, Isaiah Pola-Mao, currently plays safety for the Las Vegas Raiders. Polamalu and his wife, Stephanie, have six children, KC, Matthew, Tre, Sophia, Andrew and Xander, as well as a daughter-in-law, Theresa, and grandsons, Tre and Koa.