Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo Interviews for Jaguars’ Head-Coaching Job

The Jacksonville Jaguars have just wrapped up their first head coach interview of the 2025 cycle.

The Jaguars formally announced a completed interview with Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Friday evening. With Detroit Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn set to interview on Saturday, Spagnuolo will officially go down in the books as the first coach the Jaguars have spoken with.

One of the best defensive minds in football, the Jaguars saw up close what Spagnuolo can do to an offense when he held the Jaguars to only field goals in a Week 2 meeting in Jacksonville in 2023. Spagnuolo has been a key piece of the Chiefs’ recent postseason runs, and he could be an ideal choice to fix a broken defense.

Spagnuolo went 10-38 as the St. Louis Rams’ head coach from 2009-2011; since then, he has been one of the top defensive coordinators in football and has been a massive piece of the Chiefs’ recent Super Bowl runs. He also has indicated this year that he has interest in attempting to be a head coach once again.

“I mean, I’ll deal with that later,” Spagnuolo said last week. “Listen, yeah, the answer is yes but right now, it’s all about Denver. I hadn’t even thought about that road until you just mentioned it. I’ll let all of that take care of itself.”

Jaguars owner Shad Khan has cast a wide net for Doug Pederson’s replacement. In addition to Spagnuolo, the Jaguars have also requested Robert Saleh, Patrick Graham, Aaron Glenn, and Brian Flores. The offensive coaches the Jaguars have requested are Ben Johnson, Liam Coen, Joe Brady, Kellen Moore, and Todd Monken.

Khan has hired five coaches in his 13-year tenure as owner, and the only one who has been a defensive-minded coach has been Gus Bradley. Otherwise, Khan has looked at offensive-minded coaches who have had experience as a head coach in the NFL in past years.

“I think we want him to represent the city and the team, obviously, well. We want him to win. Right now, we are the most predictable team on both sides of the ball,” Khan said on Monday when asked about what he is looking for in his next coach.