What a difference a year makes. Last year, the were in the AFC Championship, yes, but ultimately faltered when their defense couldn't stop and Rob Gronkowski from stamping the ' ticket to Super Bowl LIII with a gut-wrenching 37-21 overtime victory at Arrowhead Stadium. It was a special season for the Chiefs, and one that led to being named league MVP in his first full season as a starter, but the Patriots never gave him a chance to save the day on Jan. 20, 2019 -- as he'd been tasked with doing so often throughout the season.Things look precipitously different this Wesley Johnson Jersey time around, because the Chiefs are heading to Super Bowl LIV to face off with the , and not solely based on the greatne s of Mahomes and the offense. The team's defense is light years beyond where it stood last season, in several major categories, and in large part thanks to the addition of Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator."Steve is a bright defensive mind with Montrezl Harrell Jersey a and succe s in our league," head coach Andy Reid said in January 2019 after officially announcing the hire, via The Kansas City Star. "I know him well from our time together in Philadelphia and I feel that his leadership skills and teaching abilities, combined with his scheme, will be a great fit for our team as we move forward."A lot of experience indeed, having spent his entire NFL coaching career volleying between varying positions that include, but are not limited to: defensive a sistant, defensive backs coach, linebackers coach, secondary coach, defensive coordinator, a sistant head coach and head coach.Spagnuolo was hired swiftly following the aforementioned heartbreak and immediately went to work scrapping the incumbent 3-4 scheme to install his 4-3 setup, and with grand results. The Chiefs saw an uptick in their run defense, but what Spagnuolo's scheme was able to do for the defensive Tobias Harris Jersey secondary was phenomenal, taking them from second-worst in the league in 2018 in pa sing yards allowed per game to eighth-best in 2019.The decision by Reid and Spagnuolo to add All-Pro safety combined with the drafting of rookie safety made for arguably the NFL's most advantageous safety tandem, with one hand washing the other as it relates to the aid they got via pre sure generated from the front seven. Mathieu reeled in four interceptions under Spagnuolo, one shy of his career-best 2015 season, and Thornhill added another three to the mix before landing on injured reserve in late December with a torn ACL.So while Mahomes does what Mahomes does, namely great things as he orchestrates Avery Bradley Jersey another potent offensive season for the Chiefs, Spagnuolo has the defense firing on all cylinders.They sacked quarterbacks and a combined eight times in the AFC Divisional Round and AFC Championship, respectively, and bullying opposing QBs isn't their only claim to fame -- their 45 regular season sacks notwithstanding. Although they've only seen a minor uptick in run defense over last season, they showed they can shut down an elite running back when no one else can, having held league-leading rusher to only 69 yards and a touchdown in a stifling defensive effort against the .Henry bulldozed through the Patriots and top-seeded with a combined 377 yards rushing, and he looked utterly unstoppable heading into Arrowhead with a trip to Miami on the line. Instead, led by defensive lineman -- who now operates from the interior in Spagnuolo's four-man front -- Henry was left on bricks wondering who stole his wheels.And much like the acquisitions of Mathieu and Thornhill on the back end, signing and to anchor the 4-3 scheme has worked wonders, with Jones, Clark, and Ogbah leading the team in sacks; and Clark was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2019 thanks for Spagnuolo, although he can't attend, for obvious reasons.One of the more talented defensive minds in the entire NFL Paul George Jersey , Reid knew what he'd have in Spagnuolo -- the two having worked together in their time with the at the turn of the century.They're now reunited and, as Reid would no doubt agree, it feels so good.