Dormont’s Spanos logging big games
At 24, Lou Spanos coached in his first Super Bowl. He was fresh out of the University of Tulsa, where he was a three-year starter on the offensive line, and his first job in the NFL was working for Steelers coach Bill Cowher, whose staff included Dick LeBeau and Marvin Lewis. As a defensive quality control coach, Spanos not only got to work for some of the NFL’s top defensive minds, but he was around players such as future Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake, Greg Lloyd and Levon Kirkland among others.
The Steelers didn’t win Super Bowl XXX against the Cowboys, but it was the start of a long coaching odyssey that has taken Spanos from coast to coast over the past nearly quarter century. He has worked for three Super Bowl-winning coaches in the NFL and this past season he worked as a defensive analyst for college coaching legend Nick Saban at Alabama. Wednesday he was named defensive coordinator at Connecticut.
Last week, Spanos coached in the College Football Playoff national championship game against Clemson. The Crimson Tide lost, but it was the latest in a long line of big game experiences for Spanos.
A Dormont native and Keystone Oaks graduate, Spanos was on Cowher’s staff for the Super Bowl XL win and Mike Tomlin’s staff for the Super Bowl XLIII victory.
“All of them were great experiences because of what transpired during the regular season,” said Spanos, who served as a defensive analyst for Saban. “It was enjoyable this year to watch the players grow throughout the season and realize their dreams and for the team to reach some of our goals.”
Spanos left the Steelers after 14 years to become linebackers coach for twotime Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Shanahan in Washington in 2010. After two seasons with the Redskins, Spanos became the defensive coordinator at UCLA under Jim Mora. While with the Bruins, he coached future NFL players Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks and former Steelers draft pick Jordan Zumwalt.
Spanos took some of the old Blitzburgh defense to the Pac-12. The year before Spanos arrived at UCLA, the Bruins had only 14 sacks. During his two seasons as defensive coordinator, they had 79, including 47 in 2012.
When his friend and former Steelers assistant Ken Whisenhunt was hired by the Tennessee Titans in 2014, he went back to being a linebackers coach in the NFL. He remained with the Titans through the 2017 season.
Saban, a six-time national championship coach, hired him last year after new Titans coach Mike Vrabel did not retain any members of the previous Titans staff.
“I’m very fortunate to have been on all of those staffs and with those coaches,” Spanos said. “Each of those coaches had their own style that made them successful. As a coach you always have your own identity. But as you evolve you take some traits from each of them that you admire.”
Spanos also mentioned his first coaching influence — John Durham, the longtime coach at Keystone Oaks who went on to coach at Washington & Jefferson and California, Pa. Spanos and Durham exchanged text messages in the days leading up to the national title game and keep in touch throughout the year.
Spanos, 47, is well-positioned for what’s next. His experiences at UCLA and Alabama make him an attractive candidate for college and NFL teams. Some NFL owners are hiring younger coaches from the college ranks to take advantage of their expertise in the spread offenses that are also being adapted by NFL coaches.
For now, the college game is his craft.
“It’s a great experience to mold young student-athletes and coach them,” Spanos said. “I run into guys I coached at UCLA, guys who are actors now or working in different businesses. They’ll thank me for coaching them. It’s great to have those relationships.”