Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo
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The Chiefs are hiring a new coach with direct ties to DC Steve Spagnuolo.
This offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs have made plenty of changes. That will only continue to be the case once free agency starts, but head coach Andy Reid’s supporting pieces are looking different already.
Another example of that presented itself on Wednesday when the team announced a new hire. This time, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is getting a new coworker — with a twist.
Chiefs Announce Andrew Curtis Addition to Defensive Coaching Staff
Per a Wednesday announcement from the Chiefs on their official X account, Andre Curtis is joining the organization. The respected defensive backs and safeties coach now takes his expertise to Kansas City.
Curtis boasts well over two decades of coaching experience overall, including 20 years in the NFL ranks. A former player at Virginia Military Institute from 1996-1999, he racked up 354 tackles on the field before shifting to a professional role after school. He got his first big break into the NFL world in 2006, which is where ties to Spagnuolo began to form.
Over the ensuing three seasons, Curtis was New York’s defensive quality control coach. At the same time, Spagnuolo emerged as a Super Bowl-winning coordinator, a role he held from 2007-2008. Thereafter, Spagnuolo left to become head coach of the Los Angeles Rams (then St. Louis Rams), and he brought Curtis with him. Curtis was Los Angeles’ defensive backs coach from 2009-2011.
The Spagnuolo tutelage didn’t stop there. Curtis joined him in 2012 as New Orleans Saints assistant secondary coach when the former was defensive coordinator. That was the last time the two worked together, as Spagnuolo moved on to other organizations and Curtis eventually found his way to the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys.
News of the Curtis hire comes just a few weeks removed from C.J. Cox coming to the Chiefs as a defensive quality control coach. Many pillars of the Spagnuolo staff remain intact, including defensive line coach Joe Cullen, who got DC buzz earlier this offseason.
Kansas City Defense Eyeing Improved Effort in 2026-27 Season
Under Spagnuolo, the Chiefs have produced a mixed bag of results on defense. On one hand, the legendary coach was instrumental in transforming the culture on that side of the ball in 2019. In his first season in town as coordinator, Kansas City won its first Super Bowl in 50 years. On the other hand, that shine has worn off in the past couple of campaigns, culminating with ho-hum output in 2025-26.
This past season’s team ranked 10th in yards and sixth in scoring, but that’s misleading. On a per-drive basis, those slots fell to 14th and 11th, respectively. A lack of turnover generation was a glaring issue all year long, as the defense finished 26th in that regard. An uninspiring 37.7% of opponent drives ended in scores, which sat 21st in the league.
Advanced stats didn’t like the Chiefs’ defense much more. According to RBSDM, Spagnuolo’s unit was 12th in EPA per play and 14th in success rate. Stopping the pass was an occasional issue, as evidenced by a middle-of-the-pack 15th ranking in dropback EPA and a No. 19 spot in success rate. Per Jefe’s Handiwork, Kansas City was 24th in late down success rate ceded heading into their Week 18 finale versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s difficult to decipher what the exact problem was. There may be more than one, as it took a combination effort to limit the Chiefs to a 6-11 regular-season record. Injuries, a brutal losing streak, bad luck, a lack of high-end talent and simple execution errors haunted Spagnuolo’s crew. Given his impressive track record, it likely isn’t a reflection of his coaching.
With some new assistants on his staff this offseason, the organization’s hope is that a return to form is in the cards.