Spags, Chiefs Focusing Offseason Homework on This Specific Scheme

Kansas City Chiefs saw it just twice last season, but it'll take up the bulk of their schedule in 2026.

Dec 7, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) tackles Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (27) during the third quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amy Kontras-Imagn Images | Amy Kontras-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Matt LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan wore the same seafoam-colored jacket at the annual league meeting on Tuesday. Chris Simms said they looked like the Backstreet Boys.

Their offenses look a lot like their wardrobes, too. And that’s important to Steve Spagnuolo.

While the Chiefs won’t play LaFleur’s Packers this year, they do get his brother, first-year Arizona head coach Mike LaFleur. The Chiefs also draw Shanahan’s 49ers as well as Las Vegas (twice), the L.A. Chargers (twice), Cincinnati, the L.A. Rams, Miami and Super Bowl-champion Seattle.

Sep 26, 2010; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan congratualtes St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo after the game at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Redskins 30-16. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-Imagn Images | Scott Rovak-Imagn Images

All of those teams run an offense heavily rooted in the Shanahan-McVay system. Those teams account for 10 games, nearly 60 percent of Kansas City’s 2026 opponents.

For context, last season, Spagnuolo’s unit saw the Shanahan-McVay offense on only two occasions, losses at Jacksonville in Week 5 and home against Houston in Week 15.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) rushes for yards during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars edged the Kansas City Chiefs 31-28. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Offseason program begins April 20

Sounds like much of the bonus time the Chiefs got for missing the 2025 playoffs was spent freshening up on those concepts. And when Kansas City’s defensive players report for their offseason program April 20, expect Spagnuolo to hit them hard with those Shanahan-McVay looks.

The Shanahan-McVay system is named after Sean McVay and Kyle’s dad, Mike, who led the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl titles in 1997 and ’98. Andy Reid got a front-row seat at Super Bowl 32, when John Elway and Terrell Davis kept Reid (then Green Bay’s quarterbacks coach) from back-to-back titles.

Jan 25, 1998; San Diego, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis (30) carries the ball behind the blocking of Tony Jones (77), Shannon Sharpe (84), Howard Griffith (29) and Tom Nalen (66) against Green Bay Packers defensive players Reggie White (92), Brian Williams (51) and Bernardo Harris (55) during Super Bowl XXXII at Qualcomm Stadium. The Broncos defeated the Packers 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

Last two Super Bowl MVP running backs -- Davis and Walker

Basic tenets of the offense include heavy under-center and play-action looks, bootleg passes and zone-blocking schemes – something that spurred Davis to the Super Bowl MVP over Reid in 1997 and new Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker to the same award in February. The Shanahan-McVay offense originated from the same Bill Walsh playbook Reid learned with the Packers but tends to favor more 11 personnel (one back, three wideouts) and pre-snap motion.

McVay learned it from the elder Shanahan in Washington, where in 2013 the Redskins’ staff featured five future head coaches: McVay, LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel and Raheem Morris. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur learned it under McVay.

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) carries the ball for a touchdown as San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) trails on the play during the second half in an NFC Divisional Round game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

That Redskins staff also included Bobby Slowik, now offensive coordinator and playcaller in Miami. McDaniel, the former Dolphins head coach and new offensive coordinator with the Chargers, now faces Spagnuolo twice a year in the AFC West.

So does Klint Kubiak, fresh off his Super Bowl title as Seahawks offensive coordinator. He’s the new head coach in Las Vegas. Kubiak’s dad, Gary, was Shanahan’s offensive coordinator during Denver’s run of back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the late 1990s.

Sep 15, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid talks with Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on field prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Shanahan-McVay offense along with schemes directly influenced by Andy Reid have combined to capture five of the last seven Super Bowls: The Chiefs in 2019, 2022 and ’23, McVay’s Rams in 2021 and Kubiak’s Seahawks in 2025.

Over a longer stretch, those two offenses have won the Super Bowl in seven of the past 11 years, including Gary Kubiak’s Broncos in 2015 (the Shanahan-McVay playbook) and Doug Pederson’s Eagles in 2017 (using a Reid offense).

Sep 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) greet eachother after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Ironically, one of the teams that captured a recent Super Bowl without either of those two offenses – Philadelphia’s win over Kansas City in Super Bowl 59 – is transitioning to the Shanahan-McVay playbook. Jalen Hurts is now working with Sean Mannion, who trained under LaFleur in Green Bay.