The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to make NFL history, and this might be their best and last chance to do so.
Steve Spagnuolo, the architect of a Kansas City defense that has been as dominant as any defense in the last few years, is interviewing for head coaching vacancies this cycle.
Spagnuolo has been the Kansas City defensive coordinator since 2019.
He has played an integral part in helping the Chiefs win three Super Bowls in five years, and now – with the team chasing an unprecedented three-peat he faces a decision.
No team in NFL history has ever won back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls.
Spagnuolo has been a huge reason why Kansas City has had the success they’ve had.
While Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid get most of the headlines, it’s Spags’ defense that has consistently come through again and again in moments that matter the most.
He has got his unit to perform at or near the top of the league in most categories.
This season alone, they are ninth in yards per game and fourth in points per game.
Pair that with a Mahomes-led offense, and it’s easy to see why the team is 15-2 without being their usual world-beating selves.
It may be the Chiefs best – and only – chance at winning three in a row, and it could be the last time Spags is with the team.
NFL insider, Ian Rapoport, has reported that Spagnuolo will be interviewing for the head coaching openings with the New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars.
If he were to land a head coaching job this cycle, he wouldn’t be new to the demands and requirements of the role.
His first shot at leading a franchise was as head coach of the St. Louis Rams for three seasons, from 2009-2011.
He accumulated a 10-38 record, good for a .208 winning percentage.
It didn’t go well in St. Louis and it didn’t get much better when he was the interim head coach of the New York Giants in 2017, going 1-4.
The vaunted defensive coordinator will be hoping that the third time is the charm.
Not only has he enjoyed huge amounts of success in Kansas City as their defensive coordinator, he was also the man who stopped the 2007 New England Patriots and Tom Brady from going undefeated.
He was the Giants defensive coordinator that stymied the dynamic New England offense in Super Bowl XLII.
Spagnuolo holds the record for most Super Bowl victories as a defensive coordinator, with four.
One with the Giants, and three with the Chiefs.
He is hoping to make it five.
And the Chiefs better hope so too, because it the DC’s time in Kansas City might be coming to an end.
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