Steve Spagnuolo just won his fourth Super Bowl ring as a defensive coordinator, continuing to elevate his track record in that role into one of the best in NFL history. Not only has the beloved coach known as “Spags” been an integral part of all three of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl titles over the past five seasons, including their 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, but he also coordinated the New York Giants defense that famously upset NFL MVP Tom Brady and the then-undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2008.
This past season, Spagnuolo’s retooled Chiefs defense was the team’s strength at several points, as the usually dominant Kansas City offense designed by head coach Andy Reid and led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce often sputtered before coming alive when needed most. Star pass-rusher Chris Jones returned from an early-season holdout to anchor the team’s defensive line, while young cornerback Trent McDuffie took a star turn of his own to lead one of the NFL’s stingiest secondaries.
The Chiefs ranked second in both total defense and scoring defense this past season and ended it with another championship, but Spagnuolo got zero head coaching interviews this past cycle, and his name has rarely come up as a head coaching candidate over the past several years.
A big presumed reason for this is his struggles as head coach of the then-St. Louis Rams from 2009-2011, during which Spagnuolo went 10-38 over three seasons.
But after both Jones and former Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill advocated for Spagnuolo to get more head coach interest in recent days, Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff added his voice to the “In Spags We Trust” crowd. Demoff, who started his role with the Rams in 2009, the same year Spagnuolo started there, said the circumstances around the team at the time were set up for failure and Spagnuolo did not get a “real shot.”
As Demoff pointed out, the Rams…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/rams-coo-says-former-hc-current-chiefs-dc-steve-spagnuolo-deserves-second-chance
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Publish date : 2024-02-14 00:33:09
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