The Seattle Seahawks have hired Brian Schottenheimer as their offensive coordinator and are bringing back Ken Norton Jr. to oversee the defense.

The Seahawks officially announced the anticipated hires Tuesday after reports surfaced over the holiday weekend of agreements with the pair. San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan released a statement Monday that Norton had been offered a coordinator position less than a week after Norton was hired by the 49ers. The Seahawks did not confirm Norton’s hiring until Tuesday.

Norton was the defensive coordinator in Oakland before getting fired after 10 games last season. He was subsequently hired by the 49ers last week as an assistant head coach before taking the job with Seattle. Norton replaces Kris Richard Justin Faulk Jersey , who was Seattle’s defensive coordinator for the past three seasons and was selected ahead of Norton for the job in 2015.

Norton served as linebackers coach for Seattle from 2010-14, but when he was bypassed for the job three years ago jumped at the chance to be a coordinator in Oakland. Along with firing Richard, the Seahawks let go of linebackers coach Michael Barrow.

Schottenheimer takes over for Darrell Bevell, who was fired last week after seven seasons in charge of Seattle’s offense. Bevell was let go along with offensive line coach Tom Cable following a disappointing season where the Seahawks offense was defined by inconsistency.

Seattle also hired veteran Mike Solari as offensive line coach, replacing Cable.

Schottenheimer was an offensive coordinator from 2006-2014 with the New York Jets and the St. Louis Rams. He spent the 2015 season as the offensive coordinator at Georgia before returning to the NFL the past two seasons as the quarterbacks coach with the Indianapolis Colts.

Schottenheimer will inherit an offense that has great potential but significant problems to solve.

Russell Wilson led the NFL with 34 touchdown passes this season but was regularly underwhelming during slow first-half performances that put stress on Seattle’s defense and often had the Seahawks playing from behind.

Schottenheimer’s biggest challenge will be re-energizing a Seattle running game that disappeared this season. Wilson was the Seahawks’ leading rusher by more than 500 yards. No running back for Seattle had more than 240 yards rushing and the six running backs who carried the ball for the Seahawks in 2017 averaged a mere 3.3 yards per carry.

His final three seasons in New York were the most optimistic sign that Schottenheimer can help the Seahawks return to the run-first style that head coach Pete Carroll desires. The Jets were the No. 9 run team in the NFL in 2008; No. 1 in 2009; and No. 4 in 2010.

With the return of Norton, Seattle chose a return to the past. There was a belief Seattle was trying to bring back Gus Bradley, but the former Seahawks defensive coordinator opted to remain with the Los Angeles Chargers. Norton knows much of Seattle’s veteran personnel and will be more apt to run what Carroll wants defensively.

Richard’s units slipped the past two seasons Zdeno Chara Jersey , but that was partly due to critical injuries. Seattle lost safety Earl Thomas for the final month of the 2016 season and played half of the 2017 season without Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril. Seattle’s defense ranked 11th overall and 13th in points allowed this season.

Solari joins Seattle from the New York Giants. He has ties to the Seahawks after serving as offensive line coach in 2008-09.

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TAMPA, Fla. — Since losing the series opener at home, the Tampa Bay Lightning have won three straight to put the Boston Bruins on the verge of elimination.

And yet the only thing the hockey world can talk about is Boston’s Brad Marchand licking Tampa Bay’s Ryan Callahan — on the face, during Game 4, like an ice cream cone — and what should happen.

Callahan asked after the game what the difference is between licking someone’s face and spitting on them, pointing out that the penalty for the latter is a game misconduct.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said there’s no place for such an act in hockey.

The league came out Saturday only to say it would be reaching out to Marchand that any further licking-related problems were “unacceptable and similar behavior in the future will be dealt with by way of supplemental discipline.”

Call that a tongue-lashing Justin Williams Jersey , if you will.

The good news for the Lightning? They return home for Game 5 on Sunday afternoon at Amalie Arena with history on their side, No Lightning team has ever blown a 3-1 lead in the playoffs, and the Bruins are 0-23 in series they trailed 3-1.

The series has gone back and forth, just like Friday’s game, which saw the Lightning jump ahead 2-0, only to have Boston rally back for a 3-2 lead.

Steven Stamkos, held in check for much of the playoffs Womens Mattias Ekholm Jersey , came through with a huge goal to tie the score late in the third period, and Dan Girardi redirected an Alex Killorn shot in front of the net for the game-winner in overtime.

The LickGate fuss has obscured some key points to the Lightning turnaround. Boston hasn’t scored an even-strength goal in the last two games, and the Lightning have continued to score despite the Bruins effectively containing Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos for much of the series.

And for all of Tampa Bay’s momentum, there’s a keen realization that nothing is of consequence without anondher win.

“I’ll be the first one to tell you that we’ve accomplished nothing,” Cooper told reporters. “We’re really happy where we stand. But you got to win four (games), not three. And we’re really focused to get that fourth one.”

Boston must try to stay alive without arguably their best defenseman in Torey Krug, who injured his ankle in a Game 4 and will miss the rest of the series. Nick Holden will step into his role Sunday.

“He did a good job for us when he went in Jeff Skinner Jersey ,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy told NHL.com about Holden. “We’re going to miss Torey, obviously. He’s a good player for us and really adds to our offensive side of things, but Nick’s done a good job so in he’ll go.”

The Lightning’s quick dismissal of New Jersey in the opening round gave them a full week of rest before this series. Dispatch the Bruins on Sunday , they can rest again, with all the other series going at least six games.

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