The rumors of Steve Spagnuolo potentially being Andy Reid’s prime choice turned out to be true as the former Rams head coach now becomes the Chiefs new defensive coordinator.
It took approximately 48 hours for the news of Bob Sutton’s firing and the hiring of his replacement to hit the NFL news wire. Mike Garafolo is reporting that Steve Spagnuolo has been officially offered the position as defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs parted ways with defensive coordinator Bob Sutton after six years on Tuesday, a decision made by Andy Reid after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the AFC Conference Championship game to the New England Patriots in overtime. Under Sutton, the Chiefs led the NFL in total sacks (tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers), but also gave up plenty of yards and points—to the tune of being ranked among the NFL’s absolute worst in each category.
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Sutton was on the hot seat coming into this season after the Chiefs were unable to keep the Tennessee Titans from coming back and scoring in last year’s opening round playoff meltdown at Arrowhead. Throughout this season, the Chiefs offense allowed them to win 12 regular season games and even a Divisional Round contest against the Indianapolis Colts. However, Sutton’s scheme issues became problematic all too often against well-coach opponents, including New England twice this season.
Spagnuolo was an early favorite for the job along with Rex Ryan as Adam Schefter pointed to both names as potential candidates to replace Sutton. Spagnuolo comes with plenty of experience as a former head coach of the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants (interim) as well as a longtime defensive coordinator for the Giants on two separate occasions. Spagnuolo has a Super Bowl ring from 2007 as well.
Spagnuolo sat out all of last season after the Giants owners decided to clean house one year ago. He’s already very familiar to Reid given that he spent years on the sidelines with him in Philadelphia as a defensive backs coach and linebackers coach for the Eagles, a run of years from 1999 to 2006.