It’s clear that Chiefs Kingdom is plenty happy with Steve Spagnuolo at the helm of Kansas City’s defense after six years of Bob Sutton.
It’s impossible to tell just how many fans are truly excited about Steve Spagnuolo and how many are glad to rid themselves of Bob Sutton on the sideline. Either way, Chiefs Kingdom clearly approves of the move to hire Spagnuolo as the team’s new defensive coordinator.
Spagnuolo was reported as the Chiefs’ choice for a new defensive coordinator on Thursday afternoon, two days after the team fired Sutton. Sutton had served as the Chiefs defensive coordinator since the 2013 regular season, when he joined Andy Reid’s initial staff with Kansas City.
Rex Ryan was the first name reportedly linked with the opening, but Spagnuolo was right behind him—both reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Both men were out of football for all of last season, which made some fans a bit worried. Also concerning was the fact that Spagnuolo’s track record in recent years included some abysmal defensive performances with metrics that looked a bit familiar to that of his predecessor.
Do you approve of the hiring of Steve Spagnuolo as the new #Chiefs defensive coordinator?
— Arrowhead Addict (@ArrowheadAddict) January 24, 2019
However, the Chiefs clearly feel that Spagnuolo is the man for the job. His working relationship with Reid from years past with the Philadelphia Eagles will serve him well as he transitions to K.C. for the first time. It’s also true that his approach is light years from Bob Sutton, including a shift to a 4-3 base relying on blitzing schemes similar to Jim Johnson.
Whether or not it will work out will be measured by one primary metric: a Super Bowl win. Anything short of playing in the big game for the next several years will be considered a lost season. Fortunately Spagnuolo has done that before.