Chiefs hire Steve Spagnuolo as new defensive coordinator

[TLO]

The #Chiefs are hiring Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator, sources say. The former #Giants DC and interim HC/#Rams HC began his NFL coaching career as an #Eagles assistant under Andy Reid. Now rejoins Big Red in KC.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 24, 2019

[Chris Meck]

Spags ****ing sucks. Needs to be fired. Need to hire Fangio. Should run more two deep safety. Need more sacks from DE's, but also need to sign Hopkins or OBJ and Bahktiari and Taylor and Saquon. And then, why isn't the defense better?!

[Coochie liquor]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Spags ****ing sucks. Needs to be fired. Need to hire Fangio. Should run more two deep safety. Need more sacks from DE's, but also need to sign Hopkins or OBJ and Bahktiari and Taylor and Saquon. And then, why isn't the defense better?!

This man gets it.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

The eagles were in the Super Bowl for a reason. There are always offenses that are gonna eat no matter what you throw at them. Our defense gave up points and yards because the eagles executed. Very well coached team with absurd talent at wr and OL. It’s not like we were calling bad plays or blowing assignments or whiffing on tackles.

They had to earn every yard except maybe Snead blown coverage, no easy yards in the run game and throws had to be perfect/lucky

[FringeNC]

Last year, for the most part, we shut down bad offenses, and we at least slowed down good offenses most of the time. And teams punted in the playoffs. On a yards per play allowed basis, we were in the top 10. Far from an elite D (do they exist anymore?), but (much?) better than what we said we needed from Spags when we shitcanned Bob Sutton.

[trndobrd]

To recap:

January 2019 - Chiefs hire Steve Spagnuolo

January 2020- Chiefs have 12-4 regular season record, Win Superbowl LIV

January 2021 - Chiefs have 14-2 regular season record, Lose Superbowl LV

January 2022 - Chiefs have 12-5 regular season record, lose AFC Championship in OT

January 2023 - Chiefs have Chiefs have 14-3 regular season record, win Superbowl LVII

March 2023 - Chiefsplanet: This **** isn't working. Spagnuolo sucks and needs to be fired.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

If you have time, I would encourage everyone to watch this by the Eagles' crew, including Seth Joyner. It's so, so good.

That was great.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

I still see Spags getting grief on social media for the Super Bowl, but here's the thing.

In the 2nd half, his defense held the Eagles to a field goal (thanks to a critical sack by Saunders who ran his ass off to make the play), and forced a 3 and out in large part due to Spags dialing up his blitzing. They held the Eagles to 3 points in their first two drives in the second half. In the Patrick Mahomes era, that is all that was needed to flip the balance of the game to the Chiefs and give Patrick the ball with 5 minutes left for a game winning drive to win the Super Bowl. As a Chiefs fan, you take that hand every single time it's given to you.

In the golden era of Kansas City football, this is the exact defense Patrick needs to win a championship -- and to pull it off with a secondary and linebacking core that are ALL on their rookie contracts is just a masterstroke from Spags/Veach and our scouting.

And that's just the Super Bowl -- we're not even talking about the AFC Championship game, where, down Sneed and Gay, we witnessed the Chiefs' greatest playoff defensive stand in a half century to twice keep Joe Burrow from a game winning field goal to send us home.

Rep.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

The eagles were in the Super Bowl for a reason. There are always offenses that are gonna eat no matter what you throw at them. Our defense gave up points and yards because the eagles executed. Very well coached team with absurd talent at wr and OL. It’s not like we were calling bad plays or blowing assignments or whiffing on tackles.

The other team’s players are paid to win also. I have noticed that since Spags has been here this defense has rarely been out schemed. More often than not, it’s the players failing to execute. Look at the Brown TD. McDuffie and Thornhill were there, he was double teamed, McDuffie just got turned around. The Eagle’s final TD was set up because Sneed blew his assignment and let Smith run right by him. Both failed execution, not failed scheme.

[Bl00dyBizkitz]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

I'll keep saying it.

Spags defenses are not among the best defenses statistically, but his defenses since becoming the Chiefs DC have been among the best situational defenses I've ever seen. They just make big game-changing plays in the playoffs in the biggest moments. Without superstars studded all over it. Just a lot of smart, physical, fast guys, led by a coach that might be the best defensive game-planner in the league.

I've always found this interesting. Do defensive stats even matter of the Chiefs can roll into the postseason with a "statistically below average" defense and perform at an elite level?

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Bl00dyBizkitz

I've always found this interesting. Do defensive stats even matter of the Chiefs can roll into the postseason with a "statistically below average" defense and perform at an elite level?

I think we were 17th in DVOA this year.

In both years Patrick Mahomes has had a Top 20 defense in DVOA, Kansas City has been Super Bowl champs.

[Monticore]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

Last year, for the most part, we shut down bad offenses, and we at least slowed down good offenses most of the time. And teams punted in the playoffs. On a yards per play allowed basis, we were in the top 10. Far from an elite D (do they exist anymore?), but (much?) better than what we said we needed from Spags when we shitcanned Bob Sutton.

Elite D do exist until we play them.

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by trndobrd

March 2023 - Chiefsplanet: This **** isn't working. Spagnuolo sucks and needs to be fired.

Uh... Literally no one is saying this except for the obviously sarcastic post.

[RunKC]

One of the best coordinators in franchise history.

The players he’s found in the draft, the coaching he’s done. So thankful for him

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by Bl00dyBizkitz

I've always found this interesting. Do defensive stats even matter of the Chiefs can roll into the postseason with a "statistically below average" defense and perform at an elite level?

The problem with stats is that each one only tells a specific part of the whole, but fans will latch onto one or two of them and hold them up as the entire story.

2018 was a classic example of that. Sutton's defense had the highest season sack total as well as the best 3rd down conversion %. What got lost or was ignored, was that Houston and Ford became invisible against better than average OTs, I mean they fell off a cliff, and that 3rd down conversion rate was entirely dependent on their ability to sack the QB, and when teams ran, they were worse than average.

NE took advantage of that because they watched the tape and analyzed how KC did defending the run on 3rd down/normal passing situations. To be clear; they outschemed Sutton, who couldn't/wouldn't adjust. Guess who else wouldn't adjust, and called about as passive a game as possible? PHI's DC Gannon. Another coach that relied far too much on metrix and not enough seeing what was actually going on.

In short, people were trying to use those stats as a way to make blanket statements about the defense, effectively ignoring any other information.

Bottom line, it's problematic to just look at one or two stats and then declare much of anything with any reliability.

And in the time Spags has been with the Chiefs he keeps teaching us that season sack totals alone or season rush yards allowed are bogus stats. They don't tell you anything really useful about how they'll play in a certain game, or how they're trending.

Stats are great if we can analyze as many relevant statlines as possible, and pretty useless when we use just the one or two we want to use.

[Hammock Parties]

It's time to give Spags his flowers. Absolutely terrific hire. Now that the Chiefs have stacked talent you are really starting to see the results. D-line will be NASTY when Charles in Charge gets back.

Chiefs run defense has become a force, too.

Jaguars piled up 144 yards rushing in the playoff game last season, on only 19 attempts.

Chiefs held them to 74 yards rushing today, with 26 coming on QB scrambles. Longest run by a RB was 9 yards.

SPAGS