South Atlantic Conference Football

Nick Sirianni, Steve Spagnuolo and Div. III Football's Super Bowl Influence

Nick Sirianni, Steve Spagnuolo and Div. III Football's Super Bowl Influence

Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles prominently features Div. III college football influence on both sidelines.

Feb 3, 2025 by Kyle Kensing
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When the Kansas City Chiefs’ dreams of an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat came down to one possession, the man of the hour was not the product of an FBS powerhouse. That distinction fell on Steve Spagnuolo, a Div. III alum who is now the most celebrated defensive coordinator in the NFL. 

The Buffalo Bills took possession with 3:33 remaining in regulation down 32-29 and needing a touchdown to win the AFC. Spagnuolo’s defense responded with tenacious coverage and aggressive pressure that forced Josh Allen, one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, into three critical incompletions and only short gains. 

While quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ pop-culture ubiquity and exciting play have been in the spotlight, Kansas City’s dominance of the NFL is as much the result of Spagnuolo’s defenses performing with a relentless akin to the style the coordinator brought to the field at Springfield College. 

In a 2024 interview with The Springfield Student, Spagnuolo’s All-American teammate Jack Quinn described the Chiefs coordinator play as “what he lacked in talent, he made up for in his effort. He never took a play off. He came to practice motivated to be better every single day.”

In that regard, Spagnuolo represents the mentality necessary to thrive in Div. III football. Perhaps that’s why D-3 ball plays such an integral part in the hunt for the NFL’s top prize. 

Springfield’s Spagnuolo is one of eight Super Bowl LIX coaches and personnel with backgrounds in Div. III football, either as players or staff. The collection of Div. III-molded coaches in Super Bowl LIX include Nick Sirianni, the energetic Philadelphia Eagles head coach and alumnus of powerhouse Mount Union. 

Sirianni played wide receiver for the Purple Raiders from 1999 through 2003, accomplishing the remarkable milestone his Super Bowl opponent Chiefs are pursuing in 2025: a three-peat. Mount Union claimed titles from 2000 through 2002. 

He was part of a Mount Union national championship again in 2005 in his first coaching post, overseeing the Purple Raiders defensive backs. As both player and coach, Sirianni learned lessons from Hall of Famer Larry Kehres that prepared the Eagles coach for his NFL success.  

“The things I learned there [were] just about detail and not being satisfied with wins but how do you improve off of wins,” Sirianni said following Philadelphia’s rout of the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. “What coach Kehres and the Mount Union football program has meant to me and my family, he’s special.”  

Sirianni also offered a coveted seat in New Orleans’ Superdome to his Mount Union mentor, saying: “Coach Kehres, you’re invited to go to the next game; it’s on me.”

Should Kehres take him up on the offer, he could witness the first Mount Union alum winning a Super Bowl as a head coach. Claiming a Lombardi Trophy would put Sirianni in elite Purple Raiders company with Dom Capers, who was defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers during their run to the top in the 2010 season. 

Mount Union has a football facility is named for Capers — Sirianni joked about the Eagles coach’s financial contributions to make the Dom and Karen Capers Football Coaching Center a reality. 

Sirianni and Capers are two prime examples of the impressive coaching trees that sprout from Div. III roots. Another in Super Bowl LIX, joining Spagnuolo on the Kansas City sideline, is offensive assistant Kevin Saxton. 

Saxton played at current South Atlantic Conference member Emory & Henry before the Wasps’ move to Div. II. Saxton began his coaching career at Emory & Henry as an assistant to former Wasps coach Curt Newsome, who established an impressive tree of coaches in short order. 

In a 2024 interview with WCYB TV in Virginia, Saxton described his role with the Chiefs — which sounds very much like the duties expected of a Div. III coach: "I do a lot of everything. I’m coach [Andy Reid]'s right-hand man, so anything that he needs I’m there to assist him, to help him. It may be on the financial side, it may be on the head coaching side ...[it] just kind of depends on where he may need some assistance."

Indeed, a common theme among former Div. III coaches who have moved onto other roles about their D-3 experience is the many hats one must wear working that level without the monetary resources of FBS programs, Div. III universities employ significantly smaller staff. Thus, assistants take on responsibilities that include position coaching, academic compliance oversight, practice preparations, and even equipment management in some cases. 

With the variety of tasks one juggles in Div. III, it's no wonder football's most high-profile game features such significant D-3 influence.

D3 Football In Super Bowl LIX

Check out Super Bowl LIX's full roster of Div. III alumni: 

Kansas City Chiefs 

Steve Spagnuolo,  Defensive Coordinator (Springfield College) 

David Girardi, Quarterbacks Coach (Geneva): An outstanding passer for the Geneva Golden Tornadoes of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, David Girardi joined the Chiefs organization in 2018. He took over coaching a quarterback room with one of the best to ever play the position, Patrick Mahomes, in 2023.  

Corey Matthaei, Assistant Offensive Line (Willamette): 2007 graduate of Willamette University is Salem, Oregon, Corey Matthaei is a longtime Andy Reid assistant dating back to the Kansas City head coach's tenure in Philadelphia. 

Kevin Saxton, Offensive Assistant (Emory & Henry) 

Nick Cassetta, Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach (Montclair State): Nick Cassetta played tight end at Montclair State before beginning a journey through the strength training ranks. He spent time at New Mexico State and Rice before landing with the Chiefs in 2023. 

Dan Williams, Offensive QC/Assistant Quarterbacks Coach (Stevenson): A two-time Middle Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and D3Football.com All-Regional selection, Dan Williams shined on the field as a quarterback. He now assistants coaching the quarterbacks for the two-time defending champion Chiefs, applying lessons from his time at Stevenson. In a 2024 interview with Glenn Clark Radio, Williams said: "It wasn’t just me that made that program special when we were there. It was the collective unit around me, including [head coach Ed Hottle]. So just trying to do those things for those guys so that one day, they might get a chance to be at this level as well."

Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Sirianni, Head Coach (Mount Union) 

Joe Kasper, Safeties Coach (Baldwin Wallace; John Carroll): Joe Kasper played safety at Baldwin Wallace of the Ohio Athletic Conference. After working with the Cleveland Browns and coaching high school football, he worked as a wide receivers coach for Baldwin Wallace's OAC counterpart John Carroll. 

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