We always joke with each other, whenever we see each other. We make reference to the scriptures or church and stuff like that. It’s cool when you have that separate connection. – Will Tukuafu on sharing the LDS faith with teammate Tony Moeaki and coach Darrell Bevell
PHOENIX — Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell calls his faith his “moral compass.”
That compass has helped direct him to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances as the defending NFL champion Seahawks take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday.
Bevell, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has had his life shaped not only by faith, but his family as well.
For Bevell, this Super Bowl is extra special, as it takes place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, not far from where he grew up in Scottsdale.
“It’s really exciting to be able to spend time with friends, with family,” Bevell said. “My mom and dad, all my brothers and sisters are still here. To be able to share this experience with them and to come back home is pretty cool.”
Bevell has followed in the career footsteps of his father, Jim, who coached high school football in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The younger Bevell even played for his father at Chaparral High.
After a two-year mission to Cleveland, Ohio, and a four-year stint as the University of Wisconsin’s starting quarterback, Bevell launched his coaching career. It began with him landing jobs at three colleges from 1996-99; he then joined the NFL as an assistant quarterback coach at Green Bay and has been in the pros ever since. Bevell has been the offensive coordinator at Seattle since 2011.
“It started with my dad. My dad coached high school here for a long time and he kind of bred us that way. It’s cool to be able to continue the legacy,” Bevell said. “There’s a lot of things that I learned from him. I sat down in our kitchen and broke down tape with him before I was even in high school, sitting there watching him with them.”
The coach said he can look back at where his career has taken him and see there is a purpose.
“I know that when I look back at some of the decisions I was able to make, I know I’ve been very blessed and I’ve been looked after,” Bevell said.
Part of that purpose in Seattle is being a part of a small but strong family of LDS Seahawks. Near midseason, fullback Will Tukuafu, a Salt Lake City native, and tight end Tony Moeaki signed free-agent deals with Seattle when two other players — Derrick Coleman and Zach Miller — went down with season-ending injuries. Both Tukuafu and Moeaki are Mormon.
“It’s great that we all share the same belief and we can always get together,” Tukuafu said. “We always joke with each other, whenever we see each other. We make reference to the scriptures or church and stuff like that. It’s cool when you have that separate connection.”
Moeaki said his coach’s faith is strong, and he makes working on offense fun. Having two other LDS members also helps the tight end with spiritual matters.
"Personally, they’re great for me,” Moeaki said. “They definitely check up on me, make sure that I’m going to devotional or whatever with them. It’s just great to have them around. I’m real close with Will, and coach Bevell is a great coach, so great to be around. I feel like I can talk to him about anything. It’s nice to have.”
Tukuafu said the trio has sacrament together on Sunday during the season.
“We have a spiritual thought, our sacrament and close with prayer,” he said. “We get together in that sense.”
For Bevell, the opportunities to act on the principles he was taught in the LDS Church “shapes everything that I do everyday.”
“It’s important to me in how I interact with people, how I interact with the players,” he said. “My faith helps me do that.”
On Sunday, that faith could be rewarded with a second straight Super Bowl title, and his family would be right there to see it.
“That would be extra special. You get to share it with your friends and your family a little bit. It is right here in your backyard," Bevell said. "Everyone gets to say, ‘Yeah, I remember when he went to Chaparral.’ It is really cool and exciting to be back.”
Email: bjudd@deseretnews.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd