Here’s a warning Steve Spagnuolo issued the Chiefs’ defense — and why it’s a real thing
From his usual perch behind the secondary, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo waved for a safety, rookie Jaden Hicks, to join him for a conversation in the middle of practice. If you had your own chance to talk to Hicks, Spagnuolo would later share, you’d probably discover that, “It’s like, whoa,” for him right now.
There’s a lot to learn, in other words. But that’s also the purpose of these offseason camps: to educate. It’s the time to learn it.
This season, though, Spagnuolo has added a layer to the offseason programming in Kansas City — an intentional tone-setter, of sorts.
In a morning meeting with his defense, Spagnuolo opened mandatory minicamp by putting a chart on the big screen. He had shown the same graphic during organized team activities (OTAs), but with fuller attendance during the lone stretch of the offseason in which attendance is mandatory, he wanted to underscore it once more.
In the 2016 season, the graphic showed, Spagnuolo coached the No. 2-ranked defense in the NFL with the New York Giants. They were dominant.
But just one year later, after returning the same core, the Giants finished 27th.
The intention of telling the story:
“I felt like it was important to share it with them right away, because you have to start building. It’s a whole new year,” Spagnuolo said. “There are no guarantees that we will be the same. No guarantees.”
And the takeaway:
“Just how easy it is to get complacent,” defensive lineman Chris Jones said. “... It’s so easy to get complacent. It’s so easy to (think), ‘We’ll fix it later,’ especially when you come off such a high.”
A warning.
It’s rooted in reality, and not just his own anecdote that made its way onto the screen.
The Chiefs ranked second in the NFL in points and yards allowed a year ago, offering at least one similarity with those 2016 Giants. That’s as good as Kansas City’s defense has been under Spagnuolo — a necessity given the unexpected dip in the team’s offensive production — but it’s not as though it was completely unfamiliar to the organization. The Chiefs have actually had some pretty good defenses in their history.
But rarely in back-to-back years.
Almost never, actually.
In both the 2014 and 2015 seasons, the Chiefs finished seventh in the league in yards allowed. It’s the only time in the last half-century in which the Chiefs finished in the top 10 in yards allowed in consecutive seasons.
Hard to believe, I know. But it’s indicative of just how difficult it is for defenses to produce at an elite level over multiple years.
The reasoning is layered, and, sure, Jones is right that complacency is one of those reasons — it can be hard to convince players they need to be better when they proved they were already good enough. The league adjusts. The coaches and players have to be prepared to return the favor.
But let me add a salary-cap era reason: It’s pretty hard to keep a really good band together. Good defenses are comprised of good players and therefore expensive players.
If you’re shouting that offenses can somehow manage to provide consistency, I’ll point out they thrive on star players, most simply on the quarterback, in some cases.
The best defenses, on the other hand, have the fewest weaknesses. If you have a weak link, an offense will find it.
How does all of this relate to this year’s Chiefs?
Some good news/bad news there. The Chiefs’ starters are still pretty good. Still without an obvious weak link, and I realize replacing cornerback L’Jarius Sneed isn’t easy.
But for me, depth is a far greater question than who replaces Sneed in the starting lineup.
The most underrated reason the Chiefs improved defensively last season is not because they improved their starting lineup, but rather because they peppered their roster with contingency plans. They not only removed a weak link — they removed the mere possibility of one.
An injury to Nick Bolton? No problem — just insert Drue Tranquill into the lineup. A season-ending ankle injury to Bryan Cook? Bring veteran Mike Edwards off the bench.
The Chiefs bought insurance in 2023.
They let it expire in 2024.
They lost a key player at basically every position group — the cornerbacks lost Sneed; the back end lost Edwards; the linebackers room said goodbye to Willie Gay; and the front-four will absorb the ongoing rehab of Charles Omenihu.
They brought in no replacements, and I mean that literally: The Chiefs did not sign a defensive free agent from another roster this offseason.
They are without contingency plans in a sport that tends to demand them. It’s rare a defense can escape a season without an injury.
And there’s that word again: Rare.
Is it impossible the Chiefs could replicate what they accomplished in 2023? Of course not.
Is it more difficult than it was in 2023? Absolutely.
Which is why this is relevant now. During the educational component of the team’s offseason. The Chiefs have some younger players — Hicks, Nazeeh Johnson, Felix Anudike-Uzomah and others — who could develop into depth pieces.
But they won’t be merely bonuses in the plan to adhere to Spagnuolo’s message this week. They might be necessities.
This story was originally published June 13, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here’s a warning Steve Spagnuolo issued the Chiefs’ defense — and why it’s a real thing."