Steve Spagnuolo is staying in Kansas City. The Chiefs announced on Wednesday that they have signed their defensive coordinator to a contract extension.
The 64-year-old coach recently became the first coordinator to win four Super Bowls. Spagnuolo led the Giants' defense to a shocking upset over the previously-undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Spagnuolo has been the defensive coordinator for each of the Chiefs' Super Bowl wins since 2019.
Kansas City's defense enjoyed a stellar 2023 season. The unit was second in points and yards allowed during the regular season. In the playoffs, the Chiefs held the Dolphins to seven points and league MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to just 10 points.
In the Super Bowl, the Chiefs forced the 49ers to settle for field goals on their final two drives. Those stops allowed the Chiefs to force overtime before winning the game on Patrick Mahomes' touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman.
Spagnuolo's defense was especially good on third down. It held the 49ers to just 3 of 12 on third downs, including two big third-down stops on San Francisco's final two drives.
The extension comes a day after Rams COO Kevin Demoff publicly lobbed for Spagnuolo to get another head coaching opportunity. Spagnuolo was the Rams' head coach from 2009-11 and was the Giants' interim head coach for four games in 2017.
"It is well past time to see Spags get another head coaching opportunity," Demoff said. "The team & organization he inherited in STL was a mess, nobody could have had success. Yet he changed the culture/staff & players believed. An amazing human deserving of the real shot we couldn't give him."
While he isn't a head coach, Spagnuolo is clearly content with his situation in Kansas City. His players are happy to have him back, too.
"The best to ever do it," star defensive lineman Chris Jones wrote on X shortly after the news of Spagnuolo's extension.
