Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo compares Nick Bolton to past great LBs that he's developed and have gone on to become coaches

Linebacker Nick Bolton has been the leader of the Chiefs' defense over the past few years, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Kansas City gave Bolton a three-year, $45 million contract extension back in March. A second round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, he has recorded 458 total tackles, five sacks, 15 passes defended, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles in 57 career games.

While appearing on Travis and Jason Kelce's New Heights podcast, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo discussed the importance of the middle linebacker position in his scheme, and compared Bolton to past greats that he's developed and have gone on to become coaches.

"If you're going to be a multiple defense, that guy in the middle has to be great," Spagnuolo said. "I've been really lucky. I've got Nick now. Anthony Hitchens was like Bolton when I first got here. When I was in New York, I had Antonio Pierce. Antonio Pierce became a head coach in this league. (I had) Jeremiah Trotter, who was really good. Kelvin Shepard, who is now the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. He was a Mike linebacker for me in New York. So if you've got those kind of guys, it's like the center and the quarterback on offense, right? If you don't have that guy, you can't do all these things."

Spagnuolo went on to talk about the trust he has in Bolton to orchestrate the defense and put his teammates in the right positions to have success.

"I bet if you talk to all the other guys, he makes the other 10 better," Spagnuolo said. "He's telling the D-line what to do, he's signaling back (to the secondary). And when in doubt, I tell them do whatever Nick says. Do whatever Nick tells you. It might not be exactly the way we put it in, but we got a lot of trust in Nick."