The deadly combination of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and coach Andy Reid gets the glory for the Chiefs' dynasty, but it takes a village to sustain excellence the way Kansas City has during the Mahomes era.
Without defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, we might not be calling it a dynasty at all.
The Chiefs leaned on their defense during their run to another Lombardi Trophy last season, and it was Spagnuolo's defense that kept the Chiefs in all of those close games they won earlier this season. While Mahomes has been playing some of his best football lately, it's still Spagnuolo who sets the tone for so much Kansas City does.
Here's a look at Spagnuolo's growing Super Bowl ring collection and how long he's been with the Chiefs.
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How many Super Bowl rings does Steve Spagnuolo have?
Spanguolo has won four Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator. A Chiefs win over the Eagles in Super Bowl 59 would give Spagnuolo his fifth ring.
Spagnuolo's four championships are a record for a coordinator. The 65-year-old won Super Bowl 42 with the Giants when New York stunned the unbeaten Patriots, though he wasn't with the team for its Super Bowl 46 win over New England.
With three more titles as the Chiefs' defensive coordinator and another one on the table in New Orleans, Spagnuolo is set to go down in NFL history as one of the all-time great coordinators on either side of the ball.
How long has Steve Spagnuolo been with the Chiefs?
The Chiefs hired Spagnuolo to replace Bob Sutton ahead of the 2019 season.
Sutton had been Kansas City's defensive coordinator for the first six seasons of the Reid era, but a tumultuous defensive season narrowly prevented the Chiefs from going to the Super Bowl during Mahomes' breakout campaign. Rather than hope it would all come together in 2019, Reid made a change and brought in another veteran assistant.
The Chiefs' defense started slowly under Spagnuolo in 2019, but it flipped a switch in the second half of the season and helped power Kansas City to its first Super Bowl win in 50 years. Since then, the results have been excellent. The Chiefs have finished top-10 in points allowed in five of Spagnuolo's six seasons, including second in 2023, and their defense has kept them in plenty of close games over the last two years when the offense wasn't in a rhythm.
Spagnuolo is 65, but there is no indication he plans to retire anytime soon. As long as the Chiefs are winning Super Bowls, why would he?
MORE: Where Patrick Mahomes ranks on all-time Super Bowl wins list
Steve Spagnuolo coaching timeline
- 1981-82, UMass (graduate assistant)
- 1983, Washington Redskins (player personnel intern)
- 1984-86, Lafayette (DL & special teams coach)
- 1987-88, UConn (DBs coach)
- 1989-91, UConn (defensive coordinator)
- 1993, Maine (DBs coach)
- 1994, Maine (defensive coordinator)
- 1995, Rutgers (DBs coach)
- 1996-97, Bowling Green (DBs coach)
- 1999-2000, Philadelphia Eagles (defensive assistant)
- 2001-03, Philadelphia Eagles (DBs coach)
- 2004-06, Philadelphia Eagles (LBs coach)
- 2007-08, New York Giants (defensive coordinator)
- 2009-11, St. Louis Rams (head coach)
- 2012, New Orleans Saints (defensive coordinator)
- 2013-14, Baltimore Ravens (secondary coach, senior def. assistant)
- 2015-17, New York Giants (defensive coordinator)
- 2019-present, Kansas City Chiefs (defensive coordinator)
Spagnuolo had plenty of stops before earning an NFL job, but his first opportunity at the professional level came on Reid's staff in Philadelphia. He spent eight seasons under Reid with the Eagles before taking the Giants' defensive coordinator job, a choice that produced a championship in year one.
Spagnuolo's lone head coaching stint did not go well. He went 10-38 over three seasons with the Rams, and that seems to be a cheat code for the Chiefs: it went so poorly that head coaching interest in Spagnuolo has been limited. Some teams looked into him in their searches this offseason, but between his age and head coaching track record, Spagnuolo appears to be in Kansas City for the long run.
Spagnuolo's only NFL defensive coordinator stop outside of New York and Kansas City came with the Saints during the 2012 season, when coach Sean Payton was suspended due to the "BountyGate" scandal. New Orleans' defense set a record for most yards allowed under Spagnuolo.