Chiefs may need to worry about Steve Spagnuolo getting another head coaching opportunity

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Easily, the Chiefs’ biggest positive to this point of the season has been their defensive play.

Across the board, they’ve been the one constant that this team has been able to depend on when the offense struggles.

At this stage of the season, the Chiefs’ defense has registered 31 sacks, conceding fewer than 300 yards per game (288.2) while giving up 15.9 points per game.

As tight end Travis Kelce recently said, the 2023 Chiefs’ defense is probably the best we’ve seen in the Kelce and Patrick Mahomes era.

There’s no denying that the return of contract holdout Chris Jones has provided a significant boost, but everyone on that defensive unit has played a part this year.

The brains behind the Operation

Shortly after Kansas City’s heartbreaking overtime loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship during the 2018 season, Andy Reid added a familiar face to his coaching staff

Steve Spagnuolo had worked with Reid in Philadelphia as the defensive backs and linebackers coach from 1999 to 2006.

He became the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, a post that he still holds to this day.

During his time on the job, Spags has been a part of three Super Bowl appearances, winning twice, and his crew are putting together an outstanding 2023 campaign.

Spagnuolo’s Coaching Philosophy

During his time in Philadelphia, Spagnuolo was under the tutelage of Jim Johnson, and over his extensive coaching stints, the now 63-year-old has adopted the same aggressive approach as his mentor.

Spags usually puts forth a blitz-heavy approach except for his time under Sean Payton in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints.

He often uses a 4-3 base, heavily emphasising multiple blitz packages, including corner and safety blitzes.

Last season, the Chiefs were second in the NFL regarding sacks and are near the top of the charts in that category thus far.

His defensive approach has yielded numerous successes in the NFL, notably during the 2007 campaign.

That season, he was defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, who led the league with 53 sacks.

In perhaps the biggest upset in Super Bowl history that season Spags’ defense sacked Tom Brady five times, ruining the Patriots’ perfect season and becoming world champions.

Not his first Rodeo

It has been a while since Spagnuolo held an NFL head coaching position, and his previous two tenures did not go well.

He briefly coached the Giants in 2017 after the firing of Ben McAdoo, going 1-3.

From 2009 to 2011, he was the head coach of the Rams in St. Louis.

In his opening season, the Rams finished 1-15, improving to 7-9 a year later and 2-14 in 2011 before being fired.

Overall, he has a head coaching record of 11-41, which might not look great on a resume.

While there are some horror stories of coordinators who become head coaches, like Josh McDaniels, there are some success stories, such as Mike McDaniel and Kyle Shanahan.

Interestingly, despite the Chiefs making five straight AFC title games, not a single coordinator has been poached to be a head coach.