Overhauled Chiefs defense rises to occasion under Spagnuolo
MIAMI — Perhaps no defensive coordinator in the NFL had more pressure on him than Steve Spagnuolo this season.
That might go for any assistant coach in any sport.
He was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs for one reason: fix a defense that kept them out of the Super Bowl last season. It didn’t matter that such a simple task would require complicated changes, beginning with the move from a system based on three down linemen to one based on four, and that the Chiefs would need to turn over a third of their roster to fit it.
The fact that the Chiefs are playing the 49ers on Sunday is pretty good proof Spagnuolo has succeeded.
After a challenging first eight weeks marked by confusion, inconsistency and missed assignments, the Chiefs wound up fielding one of the best defenses in the NFL down the stretch.
They matched the Ravens for fewest touchdown passes allowed in the final eight weeks, were among the league leaders in interceptions and yards allowed per attempt, and their advanced metrics demonstrated that they were nearly as good as San Francisco’s famously stingy bunch.
“Talented group,” said 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who has spent the past 10 days trying to find their weaknesses before kickoff Sunday. “Their overall team speed, they mix it up in coverages, they don’t really — they’re trying not to give you anything easy. So it makes it difficult, honest.”
Honest? Sounds as if Garoppolo thinks some people need some convincing. They’re probably the ones that watched the Chiefs last season.
That’s when their defense under then-coordinator Bob Sutton hemorrhaged yards like water through a sieve. It’s when aging veterans beaten down by injuries couldn’t get on the field. It’s when a unit held together by string and tape couldn’t stop Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in overtime of the AFC championship game, losing an opportunity to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1970 without giving their own dynamic offense a chance.
Even coach Andy Reid, who is famously loyal to his assistants, knew that changes needed to be made. So he quickly parted with Sutton, his longtime friend, and tracked down Spagnuolo, who had spent a year away from coaching.
Spags, as he’s known to just about everyone, was burned out after his latest turn as the New York Giants’ coordinator had ended with a stint as interim head coach. So rather than jump back onto the sideline, Spagnuolo jumped into his car, driving each Monday to NFL Films headquarters in New Jersey to break down game tapes from the previous weekend.
He watched. He dissected. He learned.
When Reid called him up last winter, and Spagnuolo accepted the monumental task in Kansas City, he had a clear picture of what he wanted to accomplish. Spagnuolo sought to craft a defense that swarmed to the ball, masked his variety of exotic cornerback and safety blitzes, and that shut down opposing passing games in the modern, all-aerial NFL.