What Steve Spagnuolo’s hire means for the Chiefs

[KC Warpaint 3,251]

By Sam Mellinger

January 25, 2019 01:35 PM,

Patrick Mahomes is so good, so fast, that he essentially got his old college coach fired — how could Kliff Kingsbury not do more with a generational quarterback at Texas Tech?

Mahomes is so good, so fast, that he essentially got Kingsbury an enormous promotion — if Kingsbury was that good with Mahomes, maybe he can help Josh Rosen as the Arizona Cardinals’ new coach.

And, now, Mahomes is so good, so fast, that he essentially got Steve Spagnuolo hired as the Chiefs’ new defensive coordinator — the team is so close to the Super Bowl that coach Andy Reid went with a safe hire.

That’s the way it looks, anyway. And that’s not a criticism. Reid went with someone he knows, respects and (most importantly) feels can command respect both on the coaching staff and in the locker room.

Spagnuolo is a better fit than you might think, too. Outside of 2016, his most recent defenses have struggled statistically, so it’s easy to be skeptical. But context is important, too. He was in New Orleans cleaning up after the Bountygate mess, and the Giants are essentially a disaster — they traded their best defender midway through last season and their remaining players largely quit.

Spagnuolo runs a version of the 4-3 defense, which is a significant change from former coordinator Bob Sutton’s 3-4. It’s also a better fit for the Chiefs’ personnel. Anthony Hitchens, Derrick Nnadi, Breeland Speaks, Dorian O’Daniel and Justin Houston (especially at this point in his career) are each better fits for Spagnuolo’s system than Sutton’s.

The situation now for outside linebacker Dee Ford is less clear, but when asked whether Ford fits the 4-3, one league personnel evaluator texted: “Yep. Watch him in sub (packages), and there’s a place for anybody who gets after the QB like him

Strategically, it’s an interesting hire, because in some ways it looks like the Chiefs have been preparing for this. Hitchens played well in the 4-3 in Dallas, and came to Kansas City as a free agent. Nnadi was widely viewed as a 1-technique out of Florida State, and Speaks was basically out of position as a 3-4 outside linebacker instead of a 4-3 end.

But the more interesting and telling part of the hire has nothing to do with X’s and O’s. Spagnuolo has a reputation for creating high-energy, aggressive game plans, and expecting lots of accountability. Assuming he brings some assistants with him, this is essentially the culture change the Chiefs said they were going for after last season.

This was a terrific job, and the Chiefs were flooded with interest. Reid had his choice of many names, with many profiles. He could have gone with a top college coordinator, or an up-and-coming pro coach. There are sound arguments for either route.

But going with Spagnuolo is a sign that Reid craved certainty and stability. The Chiefs don’t have to be great defensively. Average will do. They almost certainly made a significant upgrade here, both schematically and otherwise. But even if it’s simply a marginal improvement, their rocket-ship offense is probably enough to make it work.

Even on defense, and even with coaching staff hires, it all circles back to Mahomes.

The firing of Sutton and hiring of a new defensive coordinator were the Chiefs two most important decisions of the offseason. The Chiefs’ future and Reid’s legacy will be shaped by how it works out.

But there is still much to be done, and no margin for error. Salary cap-tracking websites Over The Cap and Spotrac indicate the Chiefs have about $36 million in space for next year, but that number is likely high by at least $10 million because of incentives and various other “small print” payments.