Texans Should Tap Steve Spagnuolo For Next Head Coach

Texans Should Tap Steve Spagnuolo For Next Head Coach – Sometimes the obvious hire, for a team, is not the right choice. As one of the top head coaching candidates, next year, Eric Bieniemy seems like a good target for a Houston Texans team hoping to model themselves after the Kansas City Chiefs. No doubt Bieniemy would do a good job with the team, but the Texans might do well to consider which Chiefs team they want to be like. Bienemy can build them into a group resembling the 2018 Chiefs, but lacks the draft and cap resources to rebuild an aging Texans defense. Instead, Houston should consider tapping Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Spags and His Resources

Steve Spagnuolo has done an incredible job of remaking one of the league’s worst defenses into a top 10 unit. While significant investments were made at safety and defensive end, the Chiefs have otherwise made due with cheap veteran acquisitions, low draft picks, and Undrafted Free Agents. For a Texans team that’s currently projected over the cap, by 7 million, in 2021, being able to maximize every avenue of player acquisition will be key. Their secondary, in particular, is an overpaid train-wreck, with former Chief, Eric Murray, making $6.7M next year. It shows up in the box score, as the Texans have held just one of seven opponents under 30 points. Over the same span, Kansas City has allowed more than 20 just once, against the Las Vegas Raiders, and that game looks increasingly like a fluke. Spags has demonstrated the ability to dramatically improve a defense without breaking the bank, and that’s huge for a team that needs to win now.

Spags Track Record

Andy Reid has done an excellent job developing head coaches. As an Offensive mind, you would expect his successors to build their teams around that side of the ball. For the most successful among them, that actually hasn’t been the case. John Harbaugh’s best teams have always featured a dominant defense, including his Super Bowl win with Joe Flacco. The Philadelphia Eagles, under Doug Pederson, have won more than nine games, just once. That year, they won the Super Bowl and their defense finished 4^th in points allowed. Every other year they’ve finished 12^th or worse. Ron Rivera is perhaps the best example of this as, from 2013 to 2018, his team alternated between double digit wins and sub .500 finishes. The common factor? Defense. In winning years, with Carolina – 2013, 2015, 2017 — Rivera’s defenses ranked 2^nd, 6^th and 11^th in points allowed. His bad years, from 2013-2018 found the team ranking 21^st, 26^th and 19^th in points allowed. Reid may be an offensive genius, but he understands the importance of defense and coaches in his tree do, as well. As long as the Texans have DeShaun Watson, they can field a competent offense. They will need a dominant defense to return to winning ways and Spagnuolo is well suited to the task.

The Spagnuolo Temperament

One of Eric Bieniemy greatest strengths, is his ability to dole out tough love. It has helped the team stay focused and had a positive impact, even on veterans like Travis Kelce, who has matured substantially since Bienemy took the OC reins. His style takes some getting used to though, and doesn’t offer much of a contrast from Bill O’Brien, who was also prone to chewing players out. I think EB would be well suited to a team like the Atlanta Falcons, who have demonstrated the need for focus and aggression. In Houston, I think Spagnuolo’s soft-spoken teaching would strike the right tone. For a team that’s dealt with a lot of negative outcomes this year, a healthy dose of the positive could do wonders.

Summary: Spags to Houston

In 2020, the Chiefs somehow managed to keep their championship coaching staff intact. That’s likely to change in 2021. Wherever Eric Bieniemy lands, he should prove to be an excellent head coach. For the Houston Texans though, the right choice is Steve Spagnuolo. His scheme can drastically improve their defense, without breaking the bank. He offers a clear path to success, as a member of the Andy Reid coaching tree, with the chops to build a top 10 scoring defense. Less obvious, but perhaps of equal impact, his quiet presence can breed positivity in a locker room that’s dealt with far too much of the opposite. If the Texans do come looking for Spagnuolo in the off-season, expect the playoffs to get a whole lot more competitive, on the AFC side, but trust that the Chiefs can still rise to the challenge.

Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne

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