Reports: Chiefs hire Spagnuolo as DC

The Kansas City Chiefs are hiring Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator, multiple outlets reported Thursday. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that Spagnuolo was head coach Andy Reid's top choice to replace Bob Sutton, who was fired Tuesday, two days after the team's 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 in place of the fired Ben McAdoo, posting a 1-3 record. He compiled a 10-38 record in three seasons as head coach of the St. Louis Rams (2009-11). Spagnuolo, 59, served on Reid's staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2006, climbing the ladder from defensive assistant to defensive backs coach to linebackers coach. He then jumped to the Giants as a defensive coordinator in 2007, winning a Super Bowl in his first year.

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 in two stints with the Giants (2007-08, 2015-17), plus one year with the New Orleans Saints (2012). He also spent two years as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens (2013-14).

In four of his last five seasons as a coordinator, Spagnuolo's units have ranked 31st or worse in yards allowed and 27th or worse in points allowed. The exception was the 2016 Giants, who finished 10th in yards and second in points. --Field Level Media