NEW ORLEANS – Two reporters had just finished asking Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo about his head coaching aspirations and how he handles being passed over for younger, less-qualified candidates when a third reporter brought up the name of one of Spagnuolo’s former players with the New York Giants, Kelvin Sheppard.
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“I love Kelvin Sheppard,” Spagnuolo said, grabbing the reporter by the arm and looking him convincingly in the eye. “To me, Kelvin Sheppard, if I could make a mini projection, will be a head coach in this league, in my opinion. He was one of the smartest players I had back in New York, and we were fortunate enough to get him.”
Glenn previously said he was grooming Sheppard to be coordinator, and Spagnuolo sang Sheppard’s praises Monday at Super Bowl 59 media night as a player who “got along with everybody” and whose defensive acumen was key to the Giants’ 2016 success.
“Really smart,” Spagnuolo said. “He was a lot like (former Las Vegas Raiders coach) Antonio Pierce I had there in New York earlier, and when Kelvin came there I thought he just kind of galvanized all the guys with his football intelligence and just the way he played the game. And you can see it now as a coach now. I knew he’d always be a coach and a really good one.”
Spagnuolo said he told Sheppard at one point during their time together with the Giants that he should consider going into coaching after his playing career.
“His passion for the game, mostly the football intelligence, it was just natural to him,” Spagnuolo said. “Like things came natural to him.”