5 reasons the Kansas City Chiefs will win Super Bowl 54

3. Steve Spagnuolo

The Chiefs aggressively addressed their primary weakness last offseason, replacing Bob Sutton with Steve Spagnuolo at defensive coordinator while notably adding defensive end Frank Clark and safety Tyrann Mathieu.

Spagnuolo has notable Super Bowl experience, as he orchestrated a New York Giants’ defense that pressured Tom Brady and helped beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42. He moved the Chiefs from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme upon arrival, and they promptly went from 31st in the league against the pass last year (273.4 yards per game) to eighth this year (221.4 yards per game).

Head coach Andy Reid had Spagnuolo on his staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2006, so he knew exactly what he was getting by hiring him as defensive coordinator in Kansas City. A better scheme with additional talent combined to improve Kansas City’s defense, and it has paid off with a trip to the Super Bowl. Winning the game on the back of a solid (and opportunistic?) defensive effort can’t be ruled out for Kansas City, and if that happens it will be a great credit to a well-devised, variable, adjust on the fly game plan from Spagnuolo.