Football fans in and around ºüÀêÊÓƵ who were abandoned by the relocation of the Rams to Los Angeles have found plenty of reasons during the rise of the Kansas City Chiefs to transition from seeing red to wearing it.
Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce attending a Blues game in 2019 has accrued more mileage in our town than a dealer-serviced Toyota. Andy Reid has Mizzou ties, along with Chiefs staff members Andy Hill and Dave Toub. Former Tigers linebacker Nick Bolton continues to be a Mizzou Made success story and Blaine Gabbert is one Mahomes injury scare away from being handed Mahomes’ offense. Even new Chiefs enthusiast Taylor Swift has a ºüÀêÊÓƵ link, and I’m not talking about her private jet stops, either. Her song, “The Last Great American Dynasty,†was written about a ºüÀêÊÓƵ-born oil heiress. Or so I’m told.
And then there’s the most relevant and important I-70 connection in terms of how Super Bowl Sunday could turn into yet another Chiefs championship celebration: Steve Spagnuolo.
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The Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl once again not just because they have the best quarterback playing football at the moment in Mahomes, but also because of their disruptive and dynamic defense. Former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo has done some of his best work in sharpening what used to be a big KC liability into an arrowhead-sharp strength. Against a creative 49ers offense that can win in a lot of ways with a lot of different impact making players, don’t be surprised if it’s Spagnuolo’s defense that becomes the story of this championship. I wouldn’t bet against it.
Despite losing Bolton for a big chunk of the season to a wrist injury and other ailments at various positions, Spags’ group has churned players while posting impressive results, getting better as it goes. A Chiefs opponent did not score 30 points in any game this season. Only five times did one muster more than 20. The blitz-heavy Chiefs allowed the second-fewest points per game (17.3), the fewest second-half points, the second-fewest yards per game and the fifth-fewest yards per play.
They finished in the top 10 of the following key defensive categories: 19 passes batted at the line of scrimmage (tied for first); 57 sacks (second); 181 quarterback pressures (second); 64 quarterback hurries (tied for third); 60 quarterback knockdowns (sixth); 61.2 percent opponent completion percentage (eighth); 83.6 opponent passer rating (eighth) and 37.1 opponent third-down conversion rate (tied for 10th.)
Then the playoffs started, where the Chiefs have allowed an average of 13.7 points per game against teams that had combined during the regular season to average 28. They have knocked off star quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and now will try to do the same to Mr. Irrelevant no more Brock Purdy. Something worth noting: That 13.7 points allowed per game in the playoffs is the fourth-lowest since 2000 by a team that reached the Super Bowl, per . Its company in that category is the 2000 Ravens, the 2002 Bucs, and the 2013 Seahawks. All three of those teams won their Super Bowls.
Wizard. Chess mater. Father figure. The praise for Spags has been raining down, and rightfully so. Mahomes — consider the source, folks — has praised his ability to be at his best in the biggest moments, like when he boldly charts second-half adjustments in playoff games. His players have taken to wearing, “In Spags We Trust,†T-shirts. The overly modest and genuinely humble Spagnuolo has joked he’s trying to find as many of them as he can so he can burn them. But he can’t hide the individual history at stake Sunday.
A coordinator (offensive or defensive) has never won four Super Bowl rings.
Spagnuolo can do it with a Chiefs win, which would combine his first with the Giants during the 2007 season with his two through his first four years in Kansas City. He already is the only defensive coordinator who has won multiple rings with multiple teams in the same role. It takes a lot of success in a coordinator role to make people mostly forget you went 10-38 in your only shot (at least so far) as a non-interim head coach. Spagnuolo has done it, turning his three losing seasons coaching the Rams in ºüÀêÊÓƵ into a footnote instead of his career headline. So much so that there are now questions about if he could get another crack at a head job. Or, you know, he could just sit tight and keep competing for championships in Kansas City until he rides off into retirement. Not a bad option, either.
Unlike Las Vegas, I like the Chiefs’ chances Sunday. They have the best quarterback in football, and perhaps the best defensive coordinator, too. Those around here who have hopped on the Kansas City bandwagon shouldn’t forget to toast the former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Rams head coach if they’re celebrating again soon.