Report: Chiefs eye Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator

Former St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo is the leading candidate to replace Bob Sutton as the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive coordinator, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday. The Chiefs fired Sutton on Tuesday, two days after their overtime loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.

Spagnuolo was out of the NFL in 2018 after serving as interim head coach of the New York Giants for the last four games of the 2017 season, posting a 1-3 record after Ben McAdoo was fired. He compiled a 10-38 record in three seasons as head coach of the St. Louis Rams (2009-11). Spagnuolo, 59, served on Kansas City head coach Andy Reid's staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2006. He climbed the ladder from defensive assistant to defensive backs coach to linebackers coach with the Eagles.

According to Schefter, Spagnuolo and Reid have the same agent and "a mutual respect for each other's work." Spagnuolo has been a defensive coordinator with the Giants (2007-08, 2015-17) and New Orleans Saints (2012). He also spent two years as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens (2013-14).

--Field Level Media