National Football League

Steve Spagnuolo would 'love' another head coaching job, remains happy in K.C.

Published Feb. 7, 2024 2:29 p.m. ET

LAS VEGAS — It has been 12 long years since Steve Spagnuolo's disastrous run as head coach of the St. Louis Rams ended, and he hasn't stopped dreaming about getting another chance. He's just not obsessing about it, even as the coaching carousel keeps spinning without him.

Turns out, being the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs is a pretty good job.

"I would love [being a head coach again], just because I think you always want another chance at it," he said this week after his Chiefs arrived for Super Bowl LVIII. "And I loved having a whole team.

"But I'm OK if we keep going to Super Bowls. It's tough to get a head job when you keep playing in the playoffs this late."

That certainly could be one reason why Spagnuolo can't seem to even get an interview for a head coaching job, but he knows it's probably not the big one. It surely has a lot more to do with how his previous experience went. He knows he can never outrun his 10-38 record in his three seasons in St. Louis, especially since it included seasons of 2-14 and 1-15.

Still, even at age 64, it's hard to believe that "Spags" hasn't even gotten an interview for a head coaching job in recent years. His last known one came in 2018 when he was interviewed by the New York Giants — a courtesy after he went 1-3 as their interim head coach in the last month after Ben McAdoo was fired.

He took a year off from the NFL after that, but since his return he's built a resume that might be better than any current coordinator in the game. He's used his innovative, blitzing defensive schemes to help turn the Kansas City defense into one of the best units in the NFL. They ranked second in the league this season and at times have carried the Chiefs on their Super Bowl run.

Now he's about to coach in his fourth Super Bowl in his five years as their defensive coordinator. And if the Chiefs win, Spagnuolo — the former Giants defensive coordinator who was a part of their Super Bowl XLII championship team — will become the first coordinator in NFL history on either side of the ball to win four Super Bowl rings.

NFL Coaching Spotlight ft. Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo

That alone should have made him one of the most attractive candidates for the eight head coaching jobs that were open this offseason. Even his current players are stunned that he wasn't.

"Yeah, it was very surprising," defensive tackle Chris Jones said. "I think he still is not getting the respect he deserves around this league for the success he's had. You look at his resume, he's the only defensive coordinator to win Super Bowls with two different teams."

Not only that, Spagnuolo has learned from some of the best head coaches of this era. He worked under Andy Reid in both Philadelphia (1999-2006) and Kansas City (since 2019). He was Tom Coughlin's defensive coordinator in New York (2007-08). He was hired by Sean Payton in New Orleans in 2012, though it was shortly before Payton was suspended for that season. And he worked under John Harbaugh in Baltimore in 2013-14.

And even in his year off from the NFL in 2018, he never stopped working on his craft. Every Monday morning that season, Spagnuolo went to NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, N.J. — not far from his home around Philadelphia — to study film of the NFL games from the weekend, with the help of NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell. He also traveled to Alabama to spend some time with then-Tide coach Nick Saban. He went to Columbus, Ohio, to learn from then-Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, too.

"I'd like to think we all get better as we go," Spagnuolo said. "I know I never stopped learning."

He's learned so much that he's sure he'd be a much better head coach now than he was in St. Louis. As he said at the Super Bowl a year ago, "The guys that do it a second time tend to do it better."

Still, Spagnuolo knows he might never get the chance to use all the knowledge he's accumulated with another team of his own. His best shot could come if Reid, now 65, decides to retire after the season. Even then, though, Spagnuolo is slightly less than two years younger than his boss, and hiring older, experienced coaches would buck the NFL's current trend.

But that's OK, Spagnuolo said. If he never gets another chance to run a team of his own, he's at peace with that.

"Listen, I'm blessed," he said. "I work for a great head coach — a Hall of Fame head coach. I've got great players. I'm enjoying it right now."

So are his current players, who don't really mind that the NFL keeps passing "Spags" by.

"As long we keep him," Jones said, "we'll continue winning with him."

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.