Steve Spagnuolo has completely changed how the Kansas City Chiefs defense operates. Before he arrived in K.C., the Chiefs were definitely an offensive-minded team with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill being expected to score 40+ points every week while the defense would hopefully do just enough to get the win.
After Bob Sutton was fired following the 2018 season, Spags came in and while it took some time for his defensive vision to come to life, it’s been crystal clear what a difference he’s made in 2023. That year saw the Chiefs defense dominate on the gridiron while the offense struggled to score points. Were it not for Spags’ smothering defense that year, the Chiefs probably don’t win the Super Bowl (or even get there).
Spags has also been influential in the Chiefs landing key players with Mike Edwards being the latest player to fall into this category. Edwards, of course, is all too familiar with Spagnuolo, having played with the Chiefs in that defensive-minded 2023 season and decided to come back to Kansas City after spending a year in Buffalo. He said Spagnuolo was a reason why he wanted to be back with the Chiefs.
“Spags is a real creative guy; he’s the mastermind behind all of this work,” Edwards said. “With his defense, I think I fit in really well, just because I can play all over the field. Spags is one of those guys that likes to use his players and their strengths and likes to use them all over the place… He’s a great coach, and he’s going to have everybody in the right spot.”
Edwards knows all too well how Spags can postively impact a player. During his 2023 season in Kansas City, Edwards played in all 17 regular season games and all four playoff games, tallying 51 tackles and recovering two fumbles in the regular season.
With Justin Reid leaving for New Orleans, re-adding Edwards to the secondary was an excellent move for the Chiefs and it sure sounds like Spags played a huge part in why it happened. Let’s hope Spagnuolo never leaves so this can continue to be the norm in Kansas City.
