Steve Spagnuolo
Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo (/spæɡˈnoʊloʊ/; born December 21, 1959) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He rejoined Andy Reid in 2019 after being a defensive assistant with him from 1999 to 2006 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He has coached four top-ten defenses as a defensive coordinator in terms of yardage. He has won four Super Bowls as defensive coordinator, one with the New York Giants and three with the Kansas City Chiefs, making him the only coordinator (offense or defense) in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises.[1] Some historic defenses that Spagnuolo has coached throughout his career include the 2007 New York Giants defense and the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs defense.
Kansas City Chiefs
Following two seasons in New York, he became the head coach of the St. Louis Rams for three seasons, was an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, had a one-season stint with the New Orleans Saints, and then returned to the Giants as defensive coordinator in 2015. He was named interim head coach after the firing of former head coach Ben McAdoo on December 4, 2017.
Spagnuolo has also worked as a college football assistant coach for the University of Connecticut, the University of Maine, Lafayette College, Rutgers University, Bowling Green University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He also spent time in the original World League of American Football and its successor, NFL Europe.
Early years[edit]
Born in the Whitinsville section of Northbridge, Massachusetts, Spagnuolo moved to Grafton as a youth. After graduating from Grafton (MA) High School, Spagnuolo played wide receiver at Springfield College. He assisted the University of Massachusetts football team while pursuing his graduate degree.[2]
Coaching career[edit]
Philadelphia Eagles[edit]
Spagnuolo began his NFL coaching career in the Philadelphia Eagles organization in 1999, serving as linebackers and defensive backs coach.[3] He remained there for eight years.[4]
New York Giants[edit]
In January 2007, he was hired as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants under head coach Tom Coughlin.[5]
He spent two years in New York, and was the architect of the aggressive defensive strategy against the New England Patriots (the highest scoring offensive team in NFL history at the time) in Super Bowl XLII, which was instrumental in the close victory by the Giants.[6] Following the Super Bowl win and a great deal of praise, Spagnuolo's name was widely circulated for open head coach positions around the NFL.
On February 7, 2008, he took his name out of consideration for the head coaching position of the Washington Redskins. The same day, the Giants made Spagnuolo one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the NFL with a new three-year contract, worth roughly $2 million a year.[7]
