NEW ORLEANS — (AP) — Every once in a while, when an unsuspecting offense is least expecting it, Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid will inch his way toward the line of scrimmage, then take off like a thunderbolt toward the quarterback the moment the ball is snapped.
It looks so simple, the way Reid blitzes, as if all he's doing is timing up the QB's cadence.
Turns out it is far more complicated.
The timing is a big part of it, of course, but so is the way defensive linemen tie up the offensive line. The way the rest of the defensive backfield disguises coverage. The way pass rushers stunt or otherwise provide pressure on the quarterback from the outside, making him move to the exact point on the field where Reid expects to meet him.
The mad scientist pulling all those strings is Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, whose job in helping Kansas City get back to the Super Bowl had him interviewing with several clubs last week for another shot at being a head coach.
"He's incredible," Reid said ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles. "My first year here, like, the amount of pressures and cover-zeros and simulated pressures — the sheer volume of it was a little bit like, 'Wow, this is really deep.' But as you get a ton of reps at it and start to get a feel for the defense, you're almost hungry for it. Like, 'Let's put in more, put in something else nobody has ever seen.'"
Hard to believe there is something left to invent.
But that deep, complicated defensive playbook and all those exotic blitzes that “Spags” has developed over the years are a big reason why the Chiefs are back facing the Eagles on the NFL's biggest stage.
“I love this defense, man. Spags, we've always trusted him and everybody that plays under him,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said. “They're so sound and they play their tails off, and they throw their heart out there on the field every single week.”
In the early years of their dynastic run, the Chiefs defense was a liability, and it was up to Patrick Mahomes and the rest of a high-powered offense to bail it out. But that changed when Spagnuolo arrived, and general manager Brett Veach began investing free-agent money and draft capital into upgrades on that side of the ball. The result has been a defense among the NFL's best in scoring the past few years, and one that was particularly good against the run this season.
That could prove pivotal as the Chiefs try to slow down Eagles running back Saquon Barkley in the big game.
And when it comes to slowing down the passing attack, well, that's where blitzes come into play. They can come from any level of the defense, at any point in time, and the only thing they have in common is the frequency in which they succeed.
“He doesn't do it every down,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Sometimes you get the stigma of being a ‘blitz guy.’ It's when he does it and how he knows the protections or the run scheme, you know, for the run blitzes. How he understands the scheme and when to go about using it. I think that's what makes him so unique and why they're so successful.”
The success of the Kansas City defense coupled with Spagnuolo's relatable personality have made him a fan favorite, and why the Jets and Jaguars were among the teams that interviewed him for their head coaching vacancies.
Spagnuolo had a chance with the Rams from 2009-11, going 10-38 as a head coach. But the deck was stacked against him; the team was unsettled at quarterback, the most important position in the game, and was in the midst of a major rebuilding effort.
Andy Reid would love to see his longtime friend get another chance. But in the meantime, he's thankful Spagnuolo and so much of his defensive staff have remained intact for several years, providing consistency on that side of the ball.
“They know the scheme like the back of their hand. Spags has confidence in them and then the players have confidence in their coaches and Spags,” Reid said. "You have to stay focused during the meetings, you have to detail it at practice, you have to detail the walkthroughs that you do meetings on the field. Then, most of all, you have to execute it on game day. But there’s that trust, that whole foundation that you’ve built with the trust and these guys, they’ve got that.
"Then, likewise, I have the confidence in Spags and in certain situations. I don’t run over to him and go, ‘Hey, let’s not do that or this.’ I have enough confidence in him and been around him long enough to know he’s going to make the right call.”
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