Steve Spagnuolo is entering his sixth season as the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, and it sounds like he is hoping it will be his last.
Spagnuolo signed a contract extension with the Chiefs last week in the wake of one of the best coaching jobs of his career. Kansas City had one of the best defenses in the NFL during the regular season, and the dominance continued en route to a win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
In an interview with SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio over the weekend, Spagnuolo said he is very happy with his current job in Kansas City. However, the 64-year-old confirmed that he wants another opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL.
“Absolutely would want to. We’re prideful guys in this business,” Spagnuolo said, as transcribed by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “It wasn’t a success when I was in St. Louis, although I think what gets lost in this is when we went from Year 1 to Year 2, in that second year in 2010, had we won the last game of the season we’re in the playoffs and hosting a playoff game against the New Orleans Saints. It didn’t happen, then we hit the lockout and things didn’t go well and we were gone.
“The answer to the question is yes, but I always follow up with this: If it never happens and it’s God’s will that I continue to do what I’m doing, I’m a blessed man.”
Spagnuolo was the head coach of the then-St. Louis Rams from 2009-2011. He went 10-38 in three seasons, but he inherited a terrible roster that had won just five total games in the two previous seasons combined. Even one of Spagnuolo’s former bosses recently admitted that the coach was not given a fair shot.
The Chiefs held opponents to just 17.3 points and 289.8 yards per game this season. They allowed just seven points in their wild-card round win over the Dolphins, 24 in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills, and 10 in their AFC Championship Game win over the Baltimore Ravens. Spagnuolo’s unit then made life extremely difficult for the 49ers with perfectly timed blitzes and disguised coverages.
If anything is working against Spagnuolo, it is probably his age. Teams have trended more toward hiring young coaches in recent years. But if the Chiefs are as dominant on defense in 2024 as they were this season, Spagnuolo could very well get another shot.
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