‘Never leaving’… Very unique duo is key to Kansas City Chiefs success, says ex-scout

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Chemistry inside the NFL is a decisive factor within the game and can be very influential with the overall success of a franchise.

Within any occupation, cohesion and seeing eye to eye is a key factor and crucial foundation to thrive.

From their first point of contact within the stratosphere of the NFL, Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo have both got the best out of each other. So much so, the Chiefs head coach has only won Super Bowl titles when Spagnuolo has been his defensive right-hand man.

The 64-year-old worked alongside Reid when the latter was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Throughout his seven-years on Reid’s coaching staff, he occupied many defensive roles: defensive assistant, defensive backs coach and line backers coach.

Chiefs key duo

Steve Spagnuolo’s coaching ability was deemed suitable for the role of defensive coordinator in the Big Apple; the New York Giants secured his services.

He masterminded the Giants defense to a monumental victory over Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at Super Bowl XLII.

After stints at the then-St Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens and another spell at the Giants, the dynamic duo of Reid and Spagnuolo reunited in 2019.

Now, the pair have steered the Kansas City Chiefs to a sensational three Super Bowl rings in five years.

This partnership has led to near total domination across half a decade in the NFL.

So why are the Chiefs so dominant?

Well, former NFL scout John Middleklauff, on the ‘Colin Cowherd Podcast’, explains a large part is the consistency in the coaching staff: “Why are the Chiefs so strong right now? Because Andy has Spags (Spagnuolo) who is never leaving.

“It goes back for 20 years beating Belichick and Brady, and it is very unique to have that.

“Kyle [Shanahan] or [Sean] McVay get a good coordinator and ‘boom’ their gone, they can’t hold on to their defensive coordinator, so having the cohesion.

“The Chiefs have that right now. It’s also to do with winning. But it’s a very unique organization and it goes back to the streamlined vision from generation to generation.”

He added: “I sure know when you are winning, people enjoy working there.”

An unbreakable bond

Middleklauff is adamant, through his years of experience in the NFL, that the bond between the two coaches is going to be unbreakable.

After working in each other’s company for more than 12 years, they have strategized a masterplan which has created one of the most dominant franchises in NFL history.

As long as Reid does not retire – which he has made clear he will return for the 2024 season – then there is no reason why Spagnuolo will be closing his chapter with the Chiefs any time soon. There is now talk about the head coach being offered a lucrative new contract.

As the old saying goes, ‘you should not fix what is not broken’.