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Column: The Spanos Way isn’t followed by this year’s Super Bowl teams
Under Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have reached three Super Bowls.
Under Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have reached three Super Bowls. The Philadephia Eagles, who went to a Super Bowl under Reid, have an ace in GM Howie Roseman.(David Becker / Associated Press)
Chiefs, Eagles have fundamental differences from Chargers when it comes to team-building; LA’s better comparison is last year’s AFC champ
BY TOM KRASOVIC
FEB. 6, 2023 4:07 PM PT
Whether it’s a coincidence or not, the Spanos Way isn’t embraced by the two NFL franchises that will contest the Super Bowl this week.
Where Dean Spanos promoted his son John Spanos to the top of Chargers football operations, owners of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles placed none of their sons or daughters in their team’s current football front office.
Andy Reid was very much an un-Spanos-like hire when owner Clark Hunt chose him, in that Reid instantly became The Man. He reported to Hunt, not the general manager, and got top dollar as a head coach whose track record showed a Super Bowl and five NFC title games.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was an early NFL adopter of Digital Age analytics, a form of statistical treasure hunting that influences game management, sports science and roster construction.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley impressed analytics believers in 2021, but this year’s uneven approach led them to question the franchise’s commitment to playing the odds.
A big difference between the Chiefs and the Chargers is tolerance for perceived character risk in draft prospects and the ability to manage such players.
Tyreek Hill, for example.
In college, Hill pleaded guilty to charges of domestic violence. His girlfriend alleged he punched and choked her while she was pregnant.
Oklahoma State expelled Hill, and the NFL excluded him from its scouting combine.
Reid and GM John Dorsey drafted Hill in the fifth round, and the receiver-returner quickly evolved into an All-Pro on a small salary. Last March, Hill brought back five draft picks in a trade with Miami.
Chiefs starters include several homegrown players who had uneven college careers only to thrive under Reid.
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Chris Jones went 34 picks after the Chargers made fellow defensive lineman Joey Bosa the No. 3 pick and first non-quarterback chosen.
Plagued by inconsistency in the SEC, the All-Pro Jones has had a better NFL career than Bosa.
The same holds true for Willie Gay vis a vis Chargers linebacker and draft classmate Kenneth Murray, in whom the team invested two premium picks.
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The University of Cincinnati suspended Travis Kelce for one season after his use of a recreational drug. The Chargers didn’t scratch Kelce for character reasons but lacked Reid’s insight into the future star. Reid had drafted Kelce’s older brother, Jason Kelce, who became an All-Pro center with the Eagles. The third-round choice of Reid’s first Chiefs draft in 2013, Travis Kelce has become a four-time All-Pro at tight end who’ll get serious consideration from Hall of Fame voters.
Lines and trades
The Eagles’ greatest personnel strength may be their longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and NFL-best blocking units that have paved two Super Bowl runs.
Reid is a former collegiate and NFL line coach whose Chiefs units have fueled many of the seven AFC West titles and, in the Super Bowl victory three years ago, weathered a 49ers front that overwhelmed both playoff opponents.
Subpar line play has fueled the Chargers’ inability to win the West title in 10 years under John Spanos and Tom Telesco, despite increased investments in blockers.
In pursuit of a QB, neither the Chargers nor most other NFL teams have shown the vision and conviction of Reid and executive Brett Veach trading up 17 spots to get Patrick Mahomes at No. 10.
The Chargers were the team the Chiefs most feared would draft Mahomes, according to what Dorsey told NFL reporter Bob McGinn.
Both teams had a good veteran QB with two years left on his contract. Where the Chiefs liked having Mahomes apprentice under Alex Smith, Telesco and Spanos doubled down on Philip Rivers and instead drafted Clemson receiver Mike Williams at No. 7.
A better comparison
Eagles owner Lurie is Spanos-like in that three of his past four coaching hires were first-time head coaches.
But Lurie’s front office differs greatly in makeup and approach.
General manager Howie Roseman is hyperactive in finding transactional fits with any of the other 31 franchises. Arguably no other GM can match Roseman’s persistence. He broke into the NFL by writing a letter every day to NFL execs Mike Tannenbaum (Jets) and Joe Banner (Eagles) over two years, Banner told “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“I started getting letters from this complete stranger who identified himself as a recent graduate of (Fordham) Law School and the University of Florida undergrad … and leading with the fact that he had never played football, coached football, been the ballboy for a football team,” said Banner, who hired Roseman to help with research, “but he was absolutely sure that given the opportunity he would be a great general manager.”
If Chargers fans want reason to believe the Spanos Way can produce the franchise’s second Super Bowl berth, the best comparison is the Cincinnati Bengals, who have considerable ownership representation in their football front office, trade lightly by NFL standards and confine their head coaches into a narrow lane.
Both franchises had the good fortune to hold a high pick when a franchise-QB entered the draft.
Since drafting QB Joe Burrow first overall in 2020 — rewarding their 2-14 record and 29th consecutive season without a playoff victory — the Bengals have reached two AFC title games and a Super Bowl.
Five picks after Burrow’s selection, Telesco and Spanos selected QB Justin Herbert at No. 6 overall — one spot after the Dolphins gambled on Tua Tagovailoa.
If the Spanos-Telesco Chargers are less savvy than the Hunt-Reid Chiefs or Lurie-Roseman Eagles, Herbert nevertheless gives them a build-around star who should remain a salary-cap bargain for two or three more seasons.
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