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NEW ORLEANS — This Super Bowl will have stars all over the field. From Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, the game has plenty of star power.
But a key figure in Sunday’s game may end up being a 65-year-old from Whitinsville, Mass., who won’t throw a pass or make a tackle. Steve Spagnuolo is back on the Super Bowl stage, something very familiar for the Chiefs defensive coordinator.
“Spags,” as he is known around the NFL, is seeking his fifth Super Bowl title after winning one with the Giants and three with the Chiefs.
His mission Sunday is to slow down Hurts, Barkley and the high-powered Philly offense. If he’s successful, there’s a good chance the Chiefs will be champions again.
“Spags is everything,” Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “He’s the glue to this whole thing … we’re playing for coach Spags.”
Spagnuolo joined the Chiefs in 2019 after a second stint with the Giants ended with him as the interim coach in 2017 following Ben McAdoo’s firing. When he came aboard, Mahomes was just getting started and they won a Super Bowl in their first year together. During those first few years, the Chiefs offense led the way. But now it is Spagnulo’s defense that is a big reason the Chiefs are going for a three-peat.
Mahomes put up career lows in passing yards and passing touchdowns, but Spagnuolo’s defense was a steady force. The Chiefs allowed 20 points or fewer in 12 of their 17 regular-season games in 2024. They won all 12 of those games, and eight of them were decided by one score.
“He’s done a great job with the guys,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I think the thing I appreciate most is the trust the players have in him. That means that you’re doing a whole lot of things right. These guys, you’re not able to pull the wool over their eyes, and not for as long as he’s been doing it. They trust his scheme. He’s a good teacher. They trust him as a person, and they know he’s going to try his best to put you in the best position for your skill that he possibly can and try to highlight that.”
Spagnuolo’s signature style is bringing pressure.
It showed up again in the AFC Championship game when he brought a corner blitz on fourth down and forced Josh Allen to throw an incompletion, sending the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl.
“I think defensive football should come from an aggressive standpoint,” Spagnuolo said. “You can’t always do that, and quite honestly, we’ve had enough times where we’ve done it and it hasn’t been successful. That happens, too.
“When I worked for Jim Johnson back in 1999 with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jim was a big believer in pressure, and we did as much as we could. One thing I always respected in Jim is even if it didn’t work the first time, he was always willing to come back with it, because he believed in whatever he put in that week having a chance to be successful. Maybe I’ve taken that on a little bit. Most defensive players like to be involved in pressure and not sit in a base defense. I think the players enjoy it, too.”
Chiefs players have taken to saying “In Spags we trust.” There are even T-shirts with the saying.
“That whole T-shirt thing is kind of humbling,” he said. “I’m trying to burn them all. I get a little embarrassed every time we talk about it. I trust them as much as I think they trust me. We trust each other. If you don’t have that at the beginning, you’re not going to be very successful on defense or offense in this game.”
