_(cropped).jpg) Spagnuolo with the New York Giants in 2017 | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive coordinator |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1959-12-21)December 21, 1959 (age 65) Whitinsville, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Grafton (MA) |
| College: | Springfield (1978–1980) |
| Career history | |
As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 11–41 (.212) |
| Coaching profile atPro Football Reference | |
Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo (/spæɡˈnoʊloʊ/spag-NOH-loh;[1] born December 21, 1959) is anAmerican football coach who is thedefensive coordinator for theKansas City Chiefs of theNational Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Spags",[2] Spagnuolo started his NFL coaching career withAndy Reid and thePhiladelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2006, and as a defensive coordinator he has coached four top-10 defenses in terms of yardage. He has participated in seven Super Bowls, six as a defense coordinator, winning one with theNew York Giants and three with theKansas City Chiefs. He is the only coordinator (offense or defense) in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises and the only one to win four Super Bowls in that role.[3] Some historic defenses that Spagnuolo has coached throughout his career include the2007 New York Giants defense that defeated theundefeated New England Patriots inSuper Bowl XLII and the2023 Kansas City Chiefs defense.
Following two seasons in New York, he became the head coach of theSt. Louis Rams for three seasons, was an assistant with theBaltimore Ravens, had a one-season stint with theNew Orleans Saints, and then returned to the Giants as defensive coordinator in 2015. He was named interim head coach after the firing of former head coachBen McAdoo on December 4, 2017, before rejoining Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
Spagnuolo has also worked as a college football assistant coach for theUniversity of Connecticut, theUniversity of Maine,Lafayette College,Rutgers University,Bowling Green University, and theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. He also spent time in the originalWorld League of American Football and its successor,NFL Europe.
Born in the Whitinsville section ofNorthbridge, Massachusetts, Spagnuolo moved toGrafton as a youth. After graduating fromGrafton (MA) High School, Spagnuolo playedwide receiver at Springfield College. He assisted the University of Massachusetts football team while pursuing his graduate degree.[4]
Spagnuolo began his NFL coaching career in thePhiladelphia Eagles organization in 1999, serving as linebackers and defensive backs coach under head coachAndy Reid.[5] Spagnuolo remained there for eight years, appearing inSuper Bowl XXXIX where they lost to theNew England Patriots 24–21 who were led by quarterbackTom Brady.[6]
In January 2007, he was hired as the defensive coordinator for theNew York Giants under head coachTom Coughlin.[7]
He spent two years in New York, and was the architect of the aggressive defensive strategy against theNew England Patriots (the highest scoring offensive team in NFL history at the time) inSuper Bowl XLII, which was instrumental in the close victory by the Giants.[8] Spagnuolo's defense sacked the Patriots'Tom Brady five times, which was the most he had been sacked in any game that season.[9] Following the Super Bowl win and a great deal of praise, Spagnuolo's name was widely circulated for open head coach positions around the NFL.
On February 7, 2008, he took his name out of consideration for the head coaching position of theWashington Redskins. The same day, the Giants made Spagnuolo one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the NFL with a new three-year contract, worth roughly $2 million a year.[10]
Following another successful season in 2008 in which the Giants finished the season 12–4, but lost in the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, Spagnuolo's name came up as a replacement for numerous head-coaching vacancies.[11] These vacancies included theDenver Broncos,New York Jets, andDetroit Lions,[citation needed], but Spagnuolo decided to join theSt. Louis Rams, taking over their head-coaching vacancy with a 4-year, $11.5 million contract.[12][13] Spagnuolo hiredPat Shurmur andKen Flajole to be the Rams' offensive and defensive coordinators respectively. Spagnuolo then hiredJosh McDaniels to be the team's offensive coordinator to replace Shurmur, who left for the Browns' head-coaching job.[14]
Spagnuolo's first season saw the Rams go 1–15, the worst record in the league and the worst season in franchise history.[15][16] After rebounding to 7–9 in 2010, they regressed to 2–14 in 2011, tied with theIndianapolis Colts with the worst record in the league.[17][18][19] Spagnuolo was fired on January 2, 2012, after compiling a 10–38 overall record in his three seasons in St. Louis, the second-lowest winning percentage for a non-interim coach in franchise history.[20]
On January 19, 2012, Spagnuolo agreed to terms with theNew Orleans Saints to become the new defensive coordinator under head coachSean Payton, choosing this position rather than an offer from thePhiladelphia Eagles.[21] However, Payton was subsequently suspended for the season for his alleged role in theNew Orleans Saints bounty scandal, leaving Spagnuolo to coach the defense without Payton's input.[22][23] In 2012, the Saints allowed the most yards for a season of any defense in NFL history en route to finishing 7–9 and missing the playoffs for the first time in four years. Soon after Payton's suspension ended, Spagnuolo was fired on January 24, 2013.[24]
Baltimore hired Spagnuolo as a senior defensive assistant before the 2013 season, then promoted him to assistant head coach/secondary coach in 2014.[25][26]
On January 15, 2015, Spagnuolo rejoined the New York Giants as defensive coordinator, serving under head coachTom Coughlin in 2015 and then under head coachBen McAdoo in 2016.[27] The Giants finished 32nd in the NFL in yards allowed his first year back. They also allowed the most passing yards in NFL history (4,783) and the 3rd most points in the NFL that season (442).[28] But, the defense rebounded to have the league's 10th best defense in 2016, which fueled the team to an 11–5 record.[29] Spagnuolo became interim head coach of the Giants after a house cleaning by the organization after the firings of McAdoo and general managerJerry Reese on December 4, 2017.[30] He led them to a last-game win against theWashington Redskins, but finished 1–3 as interim head coach. After the season, Spagnuolo was not retained by new head coachPat Shurmur, as Shurmur elected to hireJames Bettcher as his defensive coordinator.[31]
On January 24, 2019, Spagnuolo was named defensive coordinator for theKansas City Chiefs, replacingBob Sutton who had been dismissed after the defense performed poorly in the 2018–19 season which included the loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.[32] He was reunited with Andy Reid who had already been Chiefs head coach since 2013; Spagnuolo previously coached defensive backs and linebackers in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2006 during Reid's tenure there as head coach. In the 2019 season, Spagnuolo appeared in his third Super Bowl, and won his second title as the Chiefs beat theSan Francisco 49ers 31–20 inSuper Bowl LIV.[33][34]
In the 2020 season, Spagnuolo reached his fourthSuper Bowl, losing 31–9 to theTampa Bay Buccaneers who were quarterbacked byTom Brady. The Chiefs had committed a record eight penalties for 95 yards in the first half, most of which were called against the defense.[35][36][37][38]
In the 2022 season, Spagnuolo appeared in his fifthSuper Bowl and won his third title as the Chiefs beat thePhiladelphia Eagles 38–35.[39] The following year, he participated in his sixthSuper Bowl and won his fourth championship when the Chiefs beat the 49ers 25–22.[40]
Beginning with the 2024 season, Chiefs defensive players includingJustin Reid popularized the expression "In Spags We Trust" to express their confidence in Spagnuolo's decisionmaking and leadership, and printed t-shirts featuring the phrase to wear ahead of that year's AFC championship game. Spagnuolo's defense was credited to the Chiefs finishing with a league-best 15–2 record, even as the offense quarterbacked byPatrick Mahomes had regressed.[41] Spagnuolo reached his seventhSuper Bowl, a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, where they fell to the Eagles 40–22. The Chiefs defense managed to stop star running backSaquon Barkley from scoring a touchdown but could not contain quarterbackJalen Hurts despite sacking him four times.[42]
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Spagnuolo learned underPhiladelphia defensive coachJim Johnson, and shares the same aggressive, blitz-heavy approach as his mentor.[43] (He did not incorporate this philosophy during his time in New Orleans however.) Spagnuolo uses a4–3 base defense with a heavy emphasis on multiple blitz packages, including corner and safety blitzes.[44][2] While defensive coordinator of theNew York Giants, he often used a smaller defensive line, with three or even four defensive ends to further pressure the quarterback.
This philosophy proved successful, with the Giants leading the NFL in sacks in 2007.[45] In Super Bowl XLII, Spagnuolo's defense sackedTom Brady five times, which was the most he had been sacked in any game that season.[46][47]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| STL | 2009 | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 4th in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| STL | 2010 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2nd in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| STL | 2011 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 4th in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| STL total | 10 | 38 | 0 | .208 | — | — | — | — | ||
| NYG | 2017* | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 4th in NFC East | — | — | — | — |
| Total[48] | 11 | 41 | 0 | .212 | — | — | — | — | ||
*Interim head coach
Spagnuolo is aCatholic.[49] He is married to Maria Spagnuolo.[50]
Media related toSteve Spagnuolo at Wikimedia Commons