KANSAS CITY Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , Mo. ?making the 45-minute drive from his home in Philadelphia to the headquarters of NFL Films in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.Spagnuolo had finished a tour as the interim coach of the New York Giants and missed out on the full-time job after the season. He turned down an assistant coaching offer and decided instead to spend the season recharging his proverbial batteries while getting a different perspective on the league.No better place to do that than the repository for all NFL game film.“I’m glad I did it. There might have been another year I should have done it,” said Spagnuolo, who was hired a couple of weeks ago to be Andy Reid’s defensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs.“I found it to be both challenging and rewarding,” he explained Wednesday. “The challenge was missing football, missing the camaraderie of the players and coaches. The reward was to sit back and see a big picture of the NFL and the game of football, as opposed to being in these buildings during the season with blinders on. Just a big-picture view of the league, the game of football.”While ensconced at NFL Films headquarters, the former St. Louis Rams head coach had plenty of time to check out the Chiefs, whose Super Bowl run came up short in the AFC title game.One of the clearest reasons? Their defense, which ranked near the bottom of the league in almost every statistical category. It was the defense that failed to stop the New England Patriots in overtime of the championship game, preventing Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the rest of Kansas City’s dynamic offense from even getting onto the field in the extra session.More than anything else it was that performance that sealed the fate of longtime defensive coordinator Bob Sutton. He was fired within days of the season ending, and almost his entire staff was let go, found jobs elsewhere or, in the case of Emmitt Thomas Nick Allegretti Jersey nfl draft , simply retired.Now, it is up to Spagnuolo to turn around the Chiefs’ weak spot.“I don’t really go backward. I’m not going to pass judgment,” Spagnuolo said. “I think the world of Bob Sutton. Bob and I have known each other a long time. A change was made 鈥?Coach Reid made that decision 鈥?I’m just happy I was able to fall into what I think is a great position.”There are certainly pieces in place for a quick turnaround. There are also some crucial decisions to be made in short order.100View Gallery Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj MehtaTop pass rusher Dee Ford is due to become a free agent, though the Chiefs are expected to place the franchise tag on him as they pursue a long-term deal. Defensive tackle Chris Jones is coming off a breakout season and is eligible to sign an extension, while the albatross contracts of safety Eric Berry and linebacker Justin Houston must be dealt with in some fashion. Perhaps they get restructured. Perhaps the two elder statesmen are released. Either way, the Chiefs could use the salary cap relief to shore up other areas of the defense.They also have the draft in April, and a first-round pick for the first time in two years, though they spent nearly all their picks on defense last season, with modest returns.“This is a process. There are no quick fixes. There is no magic wand,” Spagnuolo said. “One person does not assure success, but we’ll do everything to put something together.”Spagnuolo acknowledged in an interview Wednesday the lure of the Chiefs, who are well positioned to chase championships for years. They have one of the most stable ownerships in the NFL, a highly respected head coach in Reid, the reigning league MVP in the 23-year-old Mahomes and plenty of high-powered talent on offense to keep pace with just about any team.The biggest piece missing is a defense that can get off the field when it matters most.Like overtime of the AFC championship game.“You won’t touch a defensive coach in the NFL that wouldn’t want to be on a team with, A Super Bowl Nick Allegretti Jersey , a really good head football coach, and B, a really good quarterback,” Spagnuolo said. “It goes without saying I’m really excited to be part of an organization that has an elite quarterback, and quite frankly to work with Andy Reid again, and what he’s all about and what he’s meant to this franchise and the league as a whole is really, really special.” In a jubilant locker room deep within Arrowhead Stadium, a young man impeccably dressed who looked as if he'd stepped out of a college classroom greeted Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins with a brilliant smile and an enthusiastic high-five.Watkins had just had another standout performance in another Chiefs win, and Brett Veach no doubt felt a bit of satisfaction that his much-panned free-agent acquisition was paying such dividends.Then again, just about everything the Chiefs general manager does these days turns out all right.His draft picks are thriving. His free-agent pickups have worked out brilliantly. And his myriad moves to cultivate depth and competition throughout the roster have allowed the Chiefs to not only deal with significant injuries but also race to an 8-1 start and take a stranglehold on the AFC West."Brett is very, very thorough and always prepared for whatever the scenario is, whether it's the draft or free agency or just working the roster on a week-to-week basis," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said recently. "He and Andy (Reid) work well together and that's an important part of the equation."Indeed, when Reid was hired as the Chiefs coach it was with the understanding that he would no longer handle the GM duties that bogged him down in Philadelphia. So, Hunt hired John Dorsey away from the Packers front office Football Nick Allegretti Jersey , and one of his top lieutenants was one of Reid's prot茅g茅s from Philly.Veach had joined him there when he was not yet 30, the former Delaware standout taking an entry level job on Reid's staff. But he quickly impressed everyone in the organization with his detail, work ethic and acumen, and he rose through the ranks before joining the front office in Kansas City.When the decision came last summer to part with Dorsey, Veach was a somewhat unexpected choice.But despite taking the reins on the eve of training camp, he nevertheless put his fingerprints on a roster that would win the division title. He traded for former first-round draft pick Cam Ervin, who now starts on the offensive line, and for Reggie Ragland, who now starts at linebacker.He made a series of moves deeper down the depth chart, too, seemingly never taking a break.Veach continued to make aggressive roster moves after the season, dealing away quarterback Alex Smith for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a draft pick and turning the job over to Patrick Mahomes.The moves have paid off in every way possible: Mahomes is off to a record-setting start to his career, the Chiefs created some much-needed salary cap space, Fuller has been their best cornerback and the third-round pick they acquired has turned into more help for their rebuilt defense.Yes, even Veach's draft picks have paid off.He was without a first-round selection in April because of the trade to select Mahomes last year Mecole Hardman Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , but he nevertheless moved adroitly around the draft board to acquire players he liked.Second-round pick Breeland Speaks has started at outside linebacker with Justin Houston hurt, and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and linebacker Dorian O'Daniel have been regulars as third-round picks. Safety Armani Watts was pushing for a starting job before landing on injured reserve earlier this year and sixth-round pick Tremon Smith has been a special teams standout."Going back to last year," Hunt said, "I was impressed with the short amount of time that he had to make some changes going into the 2017 season that ultimately really had an impact. That wasn't something I was expecting. And Brett's now had a full offseason, a draft and free agency, and he's made a lot of moves, and I think we're seeing the fruit of his labor this year."It's not just the moves Veach has made, either. He's also shown patience to stand pat when nothing suits his liking, such as he did when the trade deadline passed without a peep."He's not going to do something just to do it to appease. He's going to do what's best for the Chiefs and he's really good about that," Reid said. "That's just where he's at."So far his best has been nearly perfect.