Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo reveals what type of players keep him up worrying at night
Steve Spagnuolo is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history. Before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, Spagnuolo's coaching career began with Lafayette College back in 1984. He bounced around the college ranks, as well as NFL Europe, before joining the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999 as a defensive assistant. […]
Steve Spagnuolo is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history.
Before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, Spagnuolo's coaching career began with Lafayette College back in 1984. He bounced around the college ranks, as well as NFL Europe, before joining the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999 as a defensive assistant.
Spagnuolo got his first defensive coordinator job with the New York Giants in 2007, helping them win Super Bowl XLII. He then became the head coach for the St. Louis Rams, but was let go after three seasons. After spending time with the New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens and a second stint with the Giants, Kansas City brought Spagnuolo in to be its DC.
Spagnuolo instantly turned the Chiefs' defense around and won Super Bowl LIV in his first season with the team. He won Super Bowl LVII in 2022 with a very young and revamped defense. In 2023, his defense became one of the most dominant in the NFL and carried K.C. to its third championship (Super Bowl LVIII) in five years.
Spagnuolo's four Super Bowl wins are the most by any coordinator in NFL history. You might think that he has been around long enough and had so much success that nothing worries him at this point. However, when he joined the "God Bless Football" podcast on Wednesday, Spagnuolo revealed what type of players keep him up worrying at night.
"There's a bunch of (talented) quarterbacks nowadays," Spagnuolo said. "I always feel like the talented, cerebral quarterbacks are the tough ones. The guys that'll change things in an instant at the line are the guys that are scariest, and (Cincinnati Bengals quarterback) Joe's (Burrow) obviously one of them. I mean, our guy (Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes) we go against every day is at the top of the heap there. But, yeah, I enjoy the challenge of going, you know, the game within the game of the Mike linebacker, through the defensive coordinator and the quarterback through the offensive coordinator, is a neat game to be involved with. You know, play in and play out, and I enjoy that part of it. So when we're facing a team that has a real cerebral quarterback, to me, that's the biggest challenge. But, it does keep you up at night, because you know that they can get you. These guys that work the cadence and change the calls and get you to show what you're doing and then get into something good, they're tough."
Cerebral quarterbacks have given Spagnuolo some fits over the years, but he's had success against them. He specifically mentioned Burrow, who has beaten him three times over the last four years, however Spagnuolo has gotten the best of Burrow in his last two matchups against him. One of the most cerebral QBs ever – Tom Brady – has beaten Spagnuolo twice, but Spagnuolo has beaten him three times.
The truth is, there aren't many QBs in general that have had a lot of success against Spagnuolo as a DC. He mentioned the "game within the game" that occurs with him and his Mike linebacker against the quarterback and offensive coordinator, which requires a lot of in-game adjustments – one of Spagnuolo's strongest qualities.
Another one of Spagnuolo's specialties is his exotic heavy-blitzing scheme. QBs never know how many defenders are blitzing or where they're coming from. On Sunday Spagnuolo will face San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, who is quickly becoming cerebral in his own right.
Purdy had some success against Spagnuolo during last year's Super Bowl, but Spagnuolo got the best of him during the most crucial moments of the game. It will be interesting to see the adjustments both of them have made for this game and who comes out on top.
Kansas City Chiefs have had a secret star helping to anchor their defense so far this season
He’s been a vital part of their success.
