Chiefs hire Steve Spagnuolo as new defensive coordinator

[TLO]

The #Chiefs are hiring Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator, sources say. The former #Giants DC and interim HC/#Rams HC began his NFL coaching career as an #Eagles assistant under Andy Reid. Now rejoins Big Red in KC.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 24, 2019

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Chargem

The thing you are forgetting is that the Chiefs have been signing guys to deals that balloon in later years, so while some players contracts are off the books, other cap hits are massively increasing. For example Sammy Watkins cap hit more than doubled.

I don't think it's whiny of people to ask you to do the research for yourself, it is actually quite fulfilling to work through it yourself and look at the options I think, but then I am a numbers guy in my day job.

Happy to do the math for you though. Per Spotrac here the Chiefs start with $25.5m to play with. If you don't want to believe either Spotrac or overthecap.com's estimates then I don't know what to tell you, they are taking the salary information from publicly available info and estimating where they need to, they are generally not out by more than a few hundred thousand.

This $25.5m figure is lower than many expected mid season. The reason for this is mainly proven performance escalators (PPE). Again worth a google but basically rookies who accrue enough snaps get a pay bump at certain milestones. As it stands, Murray, Robinson, Hill, Fuller, and probably a few I am forgetting all earned this and are looking at having their salary bumped up from 600k to $2m, which is the reason the Chiefs only have $25.5m to play with.

Getting on to the tenders, the Chiefs have the following people to tender as ERFAs, where the tender is $600k - Butker, Kemp and Hamilton. This is $1.8m of cap used. Then the RFA's, there are Lucas and T Smith. Definitely worth a google of how the tendering works but essentially if you wanted to make sure to keep either of these guys you have to tender them for $2m. I think Lucas probably gets that.

We're now at $3.8m of cap used. The latest estimate of the franchise tag cost for linebackers is $15.7m, which means if you keep Ford you have now used $19.5m of your $25.5m.

Now you have to sign your draft class. This is a little complicated to calculate because the cap is based on your top 51 roster spots, so every time you sign a draft guy you bump a guy off the bottom of the 51 spot and free up probably around $600k as you incur the cost of the rookies salary. You can look up the salaries per draft slot for rookies but of course it varies if the Chiefs trade any picks. Most people estimate about $3-4m of cap needed for signing the full class.

This takes you to $22.5m of cap used if we are generous and estimate at the $3m amount for the rookies, but that still only gives you $3m total cap space left, and most teams try to take around $5m into the season to be able to have room to make trades mid season if it would push them over the top.

And there you have it. Not a single FA signed, just Dee Ford tagged, and the Chiefs have no money for free agents.

Nicely done. Can we just like stick a pin in this post and put it over in the margin somewhere so we can just direct anyone to it that claims we can keep the big three defensive contracts and still go get some FA's?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chargem

The thing you are forgetting is that the Chiefs have been signing guys to deals that balloon in later years, so while some players contracts are off the books, other cap hits are massively increasing. For example Sammy Watkins cap hit more than doubled.

I don't think it's whiny of people to ask you to do the research for yourself, it is actually quite fulfilling to work through it yourself and look at the options I think, but then I am a numbers guy in my day job.

Happy to do the math for you though. Per Spotrac here the Chiefs start with $25.5m to play with. If you don't want to believe either Spotrac or overthecap.com's estimates then I don't know what to tell you, they are taking the salary information from publicly available info and estimating where they need to, they are generally not out by more than a few hundred thousand.

This $25.5m figure is lower than many expected mid season. The reason for this is mainly proven performance escalators (PPE). Again worth a google but basically rookies who accrue enough snaps get a pay bump at certain milestones. As it stands, Murray, Robinson, Hill, Fuller, and probably a few I am forgetting all earned this and are looking at having their salary bumped up from 600k to $2m, which is the reason the Chiefs only have $25.5m to play with.

Getting on to the tenders, the Chiefs have the following people to tender as ERFAs, where the tender is $600k - Butker, Kemp and Hamilton. This is $1.8m of cap used. Then the RFA's, there are Lucas and T Smith. Definitely worth a google of how the tendering works but essentially if you wanted to make sure to keep either of these guys you have to tender them for $2m. I think Lucas probably gets that.

We're now at $3.8m of cap used. The latest estimate of the franchise tag cost for linebackers is $15.7m, which means if you keep Ford you have now used $19.5m of your $25.5m.

Now you have to sign your draft class. This is a little complicated to calculate because the cap is based on your top 51 roster spots, so every time you sign a draft guy you bump a guy off the bottom of the 51 spot and free up probably around $600k as you incur the cost of the rookies salary. You can look up the salaries per draft slot for rookies but of course it varies if the Chiefs trade any picks. Most people estimate about $3-4m of cap needed for signing the full class.

This takes you to $22.5m of cap used if we are generous and estimate at the $3m amount for the rookies, but that still only gives you $3m total cap space left, and most teams try to take around $5m into the season to be able to have room to make trades mid season if it would push them over the top.

And there you have it. Not a single FA signed, just Dee Ford tagged, and the Chiefs have no money for free agents.

[excessive]

Oh, noes! It's a process: Spags first conference call with local news outlets.

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nf...226522090.html

Switch to 4-3? Chiefs’ Spagnuolo preaches ‘physical, competitive defensive football’

BY BLAIR KERKHOFF

FEBRUARY 20, 2019 02:15 PM

In his first interview as the Chiefs’ new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo said he wants to evaluate personnel before he discusses alignment.

“We’re not going to get hung up on scheme right now,” Spagnuolo said. “What we should first do is find out what we have and how they fit then decide exactly what the scheme is.

“I do think today things are a little overblown. Let’s all recognize that in today’s football they put a lot of wideouts out there, so we’re in a lot of sub packages.”

And sub defenses are less about a 3-4, which the Chiefs used as their base under former coordinator Bob Sutton, or 4-3, which Spagnuolo traditionally had run in his years as a head coach with the Rams and coordinator with the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints.

When it comes to personnel, many decisions await a team that finished 31st in yards allowed despite tying for the NFL lead in sacks.

Much of the speculation has focused on how some of the team’s veterans, such as 3-4 outside linebackers Dee Ford and Justin Houston, will fit a base scheme that operates with two ends and two tackles up front.

A 4-3 would seem a better fit for the skill-set of Breeland Speaks, who lined up as an outside linebacker as a rookie but seems more like a natural 4-3 end.


Spagnuolo, who has met some but not all of the team’s defensive players as he begins to put in office hours at the team’s training facility, said it’s too soon to start fitting players into positions.

“You just get your best pass rushers out there and your best coverage people,” Spagnuolo said. “So once we get that figured out, we’ll start slotting people into where they should go.”

Don’t look for answers any time soon.

“This is a long process to figure out who and what we have, how it fits,” Spagnuolo said. “One thing I’ve always said, especially about defensive football, is you don’t really get a good assessment of your players until you put pads on and watch them play real defensive football, and that doesn’t happen until the end of July.”

But the mission is clear. Two days after the Chiefs failed to stop the New England Patriots in their AFC Championship Game loss — New England won the overtime coin toss and ended the game with a touchdown — Sutton was fired. And Spagnuolo was announced as his replacement before the end of the week.

Spagnuolo is charged with improving a defense that shares a locker room with an offense that led the NFL in yards and scoring.

“We’d like to think that can happen,” Spagnuolo said. “But this is process. There are no quick fixes. One person or a new staff coming in here doesn’t assure success.

“But I will tell you this. We will do everything to put something together that we are playing aggressive, challenging, physical, competitive, defensive football. That’s the goal.”

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by excessive

Oh, noes! It's a process: Spags first conference call with local news outlets.

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nf...226522090.html

Switch to 4-3? Chiefs’ Spagnuolo preaches ‘physical, competitive defensive football’

BY BLAIR KERKHOFF

FEBRUARY 20, 2019 02:15 PM

In his first interview as the Chiefs’ new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo said he wants to evaluate personnel before he discusses alignment.

“We’re not going to get hung up on scheme right now,” Spagnuolo said. “What we should first do is find out what we have and how they fit then decide exactly what the scheme is.

“I do think today things are a little overblown. Let’s all recognize that in today’s football they put a lot of wideouts out there, so we’re in a lot of sub packages.”

And sub defenses are less about a 3-4, which the Chiefs used as their base under former coordinator Bob Sutton, or 4-3, which Spagnuolo traditionally had run in his years as a head coach with the Rams and coordinator with the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints.

When it comes to personnel, many decisions await a team that finished 31st in yards allowed despite tying for the NFL lead in sacks.

Much of the speculation has focused on how some of the team’s veterans, such as 3-4 outside linebackers Dee Ford and Justin Houston, will fit a base scheme that operates with two ends and two tackles up front.

A 4-3 would seem a better fit for the skill-set of Breeland Speaks, who lined up as an outside linebacker as a rookie but seems more like a natural 4-3 end.


Spagnuolo, who has met some but not all of the team’s defensive players as he begins to put in office hours at the team’s training facility, said it’s too soon to start fitting players into positions.

“You just get your best pass rushers out there and your best coverage people,” Spagnuolo said. “So once we get that figured out, we’ll start slotting people into where they should go.”

Don’t look for answers any time soon.

“This is a long process to figure out who and what we have, how it fits,” Spagnuolo said. “One thing I’ve always said, especially about defensive football, is you don’t really get a good assessment of your players until you put pads on and watch them play real defensive football, and that doesn’t happen until the end of July.”

But the mission is clear. Two days after the Chiefs failed to stop the New England Patriots in their AFC Championship Game loss — New England won the overtime coin toss and ended the game with a touchdown — Sutton was fired. And Spagnuolo was announced as his replacement before the end of the week.

Spagnuolo is charged with improving a defense that shares a locker room with an offense that led the NFL in yards and scoring.

“We’d like to think that can happen,” Spagnuolo said. “But this is process. There are no quick fixes. One person or a new staff coming in here doesn’t assure success.

“But I will tell you this. We will do everything to put something together that we are playing aggressive, challenging, physical, competitive, defensive football. That’s the goal.”

You're a whole day late, brah.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

You're a whole day late, brah.

[Tribal Warfare]

"The emphasis on fundamentals and just building a rock-solid foundation will be the main focus." 😤

Defense coordinator Steve Spagnuolo gives some insight on what he and his staff want to accomplish in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/2mCSvl218W

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 21, 2019

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

"The emphasis on fundamentals and just building a rock-solid foundation will be the main focus." 😤

Defense coordinator Steve Spagnuolo gives some insight on what he and his staff want to accomplish in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/2mCSvl218W

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 21, 2019

Aaaaand I'm in love.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

Aaaaand I'm in love.

Three things that the Chiefs were shitty at last year.

[R Clark]

Yes yes they were, it’s said a lot on here that you don’t teach fundamentals at this level.i get that you shouldn’t half to, but that just isn’t the case on this team anyway. Evidently the d coordinator agrees. The fundamentals on d suck big time and damn sure need addressed. Better tackling would have made a difference this past season

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

Three things that the Chiefs were shitty at last year.

This guy's gonna' bring some good energy to the locker room and sideline on game day. I'm pumped.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

I just listened to that again for shits and giggles. Just a couple of things:

1) He's obviously zeroed-in on the main issue(s) and I think it's safe to say that his overall plan will be to reintroduce some concepts that have clearly gotten lost along the way, and then to hold players accountable for their execution and upkeep of said concepts.

2) This guy has a great demeanor and from what little I've seen, is VERY effective at getting his ideas and concepts across to players so that they can learn and absorb quickly, and feel intelligent while doing so. He's not a down-talker. He's also very active and engaged with his players on the sideline, continuously in coaching mode while attending to his duties as a D-Coord. After the last two years, this is like standing on a mountain top breathing fresh air after spending too much time in a glass jar with air holes in the lid.

[Kiimo]

And if he can't communicate it, maybe the other two DC candidates on this staff can.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

I just listened to that again for shits and giggles. Just a couple of things:

1) He's obviously zeroed-in on the main issue(s) and I think it's safe to say that his overall plan will be to reintroduce some concepts that have clearly gotten lost along the way, and then to hold players accountable for their execution and upkeep of said concepts.

2) This guy has a great demeanor and from what little I've seen, is VERY effective at getting his ideas and concepts across to players so that they can learn and absorb quickly, and feel intelligent while doing so. He's not a down-talker. He's also very active and engaged with his players on the sideline, continuously in coaching mode while attending to his duties as a D-Coord. After the last two years, this is like standing on a mountain top breathing fresh air after spending too much time in a glass jar with air holes in the lid.

.some giants fans think his coverage schemes are at times too complex. Matt house seems to prefer simplification. Might be interesting to monitor. But no way players will look even close to as confused as they looked running Suttons Defense.

[Kiimo]

Can't wait to see how Hitchens takes to the new scheme, attitude and coaches.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

.some giants fans think his coverage schemes are at times too complex. Matt house seems to prefer simplification. Might be interesting to monitor. But no way players will look even close to as confused as they looked running Suttons Defense.

Absolutely. I'm sure Bob had some complex coverage schemes in his playbook too. The difference is, unlike Bob, Spags can probably teach and convey those schemes to his DB's much more effectively and if necessary, have a "plan b" on standby if the schemes aren't working. But yeah, there's no doubt in my mind that with current players and any draftees brought in, we're gonna' strip it down and start playing some tough, aggressive, disciplined, and fundamentally sound defense.