The NFL’s head coaching carousel is starting to spin as the regular season winds down. With Black Monday approaching, the dreaded day when teams clean house after the final game, rumors are already swirling around which coaches could be out and who might be next in line for head coaching jobs across the league.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, such speculation has already caught on. The last several weeks have brought plenty of attention to the team, in particular to offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, as he's become an oft-mentioned candidate to become the Tennessee Titans new head coach. That might or might not be true, but there's another coordinator worth mentioning as well.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, just like Nagy, has been a head coach before at the professional level, having spent three seasons leading the St. Louis Rams from 2009-11. And even after more than a decade back at the coordinator level, Spagnuolo sounds like a guy who would be interested in a second chance—at the age of 66.
The Kansas City Chiefs' defensive coordinator deflected questions about his ambitions while leaving the door open for future considerations.
Spagnuolo was asked about the potential of head coaching opportunities during Thursday's media session for the Chiefs. Spags deflected the question, insisting his focus was on the team's upcoming game against the Las Vegas Raiders to close out the slate in Week 18, but he also acknowledged some potential interest.
"I’m not gonna go down that road right now," said Spagnuolo. "I mean, I’m involved in this. But, listen, I’m a prideful guy. We’ll see what happens at the end of the year and take it from there." While Spagnuolo made it clear he wasn't going to go in-depth for anyone about the subject, that he felt the timing was improper for such things, the Chiefs DC also clarified the state of his ambitions even after four-plus decades on the sidelines.
The last time Spagnuolo sat atop the organizational pyramid, the Rams were in complete disarray. A talentless roster and a dysfunctional front office were as much to blame as Spagnuolo's own decisions, and with only 10 wins in three full seasons, he was shown the door
Over the last several years, however, Spagnuolo has cemented his legend as an influential defensive mind. In fact, he might become the rare assistant coach to make a firm Hall of Fame case with four Super Bowl rings to his credit, including three from his current tenure with the Chiefs. Not only did Spags have to rebuild K.C.'s defense from the ground up in his first year in 2019, but he's won more rings after having to do so again around the talents of Chris Jones up front.
The lack of mentions might be an indicator that Spagnuolo's window for such considerations has passed. Perhaps that's the case. But Black Monday has yet to arrive, and the rumor mill will start churning faster than ever in a matter of days. It's possible that Spags might find a suitor after all, and it sounds as if he's open to the idea of leaving Kansas City for another chance to lead a team.