Former Rams head coach looks destined for second chance

Few coaches have survived going 1-15, but nobody comes back from two seasons with at least 14 losses. Maybe Steve Spagnuolo will be the exception. The former Rams head coach who had a 10-38 record with St. Louis from 2009-2011 hasn’t been interviewed for the same job since 2019, but three Super Bowl wins and a number one seed later he’s back on the market.

The Jaguars, Jets, and Raiders have all requested interviews with the Chiefs defensive coordinator for their open head coaching position.

One year ago, I wrote that Spagnuolo deserved a second chance but that he was still being overlooked due to his horrendously poor record with the Rams. Spagnuolo told the media he wanted to be a head coach again, so the hesitation wasn’t on his end. Rams exec Kevin Demoff wrote a lengthy tweet at the time that Spagnuolo wasn’t all to blame for St. Louis losing 14+ games in two of three years and said he deserved a second chance.

Now fresh off of perhaps his most impressive season ever as a defensive coordinator, Spagnuolo has at least three opportunities that we know of. Spag’s accomplishments:

• 2019: Won Super Bowl (7th scoring defense)
• 2020: Lost Super Bowl (10th scoring defense)
• 2021: Lost AFC Champ (8th scoring defense)
• 2022: Won Super Bowl (16th scoring defense)
• 2023: Won Super Bowl (2nd scoring defense)
• 2024: 15-2 record (4th scoring defense)

With five straight AFC Championship appearances (one win away from a sixth) and a super Bowl appearance in four of the last five, Spagnuolo is one of the most accomplished defensive coordinators in NFL history. If he wasn’t Steve Spagnuolo, a team would have hired him at least three years ago, if not four or five years ago.

It now appears that other teams are ready to move on. If they don’t, the Chiefs may never stop winning.