Trestman’s tenure in Chicago lasted two seasons, but Desai was retained by John Fox for three more seasons, then by Matt Nagy for five more, climbing the coaching ladder under Nagy, earning a promotion to safeties coach in 2019 and to defensive coordinator in 2021. More often than not, new head coaches come in and build their own staffs with coaches they know and have worked with or have relationships with, so it’s a strong endorsement for Desai’s qualities as a coach that two different head coaches after Trestman kept him and eventually promoted him in Chicago.

“There’s not many guys who are able to do that,” Trestman said. “The ones who do, it’s their adaptability, their presence, their intelligence. There’s a lot that goes into it. When coaches are interviewing, they’re always looking to find people that they know, that they have experience with, so it says a lot about who he is and his ability to adapt and get along and work with others.”

Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, who worked with Desai in Chicago before coming to Seattle in 2017, said Desai’s ability to survive multiple coaching changes “tells you that everyone understands the guy is a special coach. Very, very smart… He’s somebody who’s just very dedicated to his craft.”

Hurtt worked with Desai for three seasons in Chicago and learned enough about him in that time that he made it a priority to bring Desai to Seattle after he was promoted to defensive coordinator this offseason. After Desai and the rest of Chicago’s coaching staff became available following another coaching change there, he quickly became a sought-after commodity, and Hurtt and Pete Carroll worked hard to bring him to Seattle.

“That was huge,” Hurtt said. “Obviously you want good people, and you know you’re getting a good coach when other people want that coach. That was priority No. 1 to me, and Pete and John (Schneider) knew how important that was. You don’t want to hire buddies, so it wasn’t about the fact that it was me hiring a friend—I know the guy is a heck of a person and a hell of a football coach, and he’s somebody I trust. So he checks all the boxes.”

While Desai’s football acumen is what ultimately allowed him to go from pursuing his doctorate to becoming one of the NFL’s bright young coaching minds, his background in academics and as an educator does show up on the football field.

“Definitely,” Hurtt said when asked if Desai’s time as an adjunct professor translates to his current job. “How he teaches is definitely clear and concise, which is a very important thing. But also, as a teacher he’s always thinking ahead. What is the next issue that’s going to come up, how people are going to attack you when you’re doing things a certain way. He’s very ahead when it comes to that, just thinking what is the next formula to come up with to solve the next problem? It makes him very unique.”

Carroll has also noticed the difference that both Desai and new defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Karl Scott have brought to the coaching staff.

“These guys are doing a marvelous job,” Carroll said during rookie minicamp. “I’m really impressed. I will say that forever on these guys. Their command of what we’re doing and their attention to the teaching process, is really something. We’re teaching differently than we have.”

Desai said his educational background is “huge for me” in his current job.

“I’ve always felt that was a strength of mine,” Desai said. “I feel like that’s what makes me unique. I didn’t play in college. I didn’t play in the NFL. So what was going to separate me? I’ve always felt that my teaching and leadership abilities have separated me. So that has had a huge impact on how I approach guys and how I relay messages and get some points across.”