Ex-Maine Coach the Most Successful NFL Coordinator of All Time

University of Maine's football program is known for many successful things. However, nothing compares to its incredible record of coaching development.

Not a year goes by without some sort of impact from a former UMaine football coach at the college or professional level. From conference championships to Super Bowl rings, many former Black Bears know how to get the job done.

This includes Kirk Ferentz, who was the head coach at Maine from 1990 to 1992. He has been the head man at Iowa since 1999, winning over 200 games, two conference championships, and four Big Ten Coach of the Year awards.

The late Buddy Teevens coached Maine in the mid-1980s. He went on to become the head coach at Dartmouth, winning five Ivy League titles before sadly passing away in 2023 from injuries sustained in a bike accident.

Bobby Wilder spent many years of the 1990s coaching in Orono before taking over Old Dominion, taking the school to its first ever bowl game. He is now the head coach of Tennessee Tech.

Joe Harasymiak is currently the Defensive coordinator and Linebackers coach at Rutgers. He was the head coach of Maine from 2016 to 2018, leading the Black Bears to the National Semifinal in 2017.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Maine is an ideal steppingstone for coaches to hone skills, have success, and take that experience to the next level.

This includes the most successful defensive coordinator in NFL history, at least when it comes to winning Super Bowl rings. That coach is Steve Spagnuolo.

Spagnuolo, or Spags, is currently the defensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, the most recent victory was Spags' third ring with the team. He joined the Chiefs back in 2019 and is credited with completely turning the defensive unit around.

Winning three rings is impressive, but that's just from Kansas City. See, Spags also won one earlier in his career when he was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. He guided his defense to one of the greatest performances in Super Bowl history, holding the 18-0 New England Patriots to just 14 total points.

With this most recent win, Spags is now the winningest coordinator in NFL history. This is quite an accomplishment for the Whitinsville, Massachusetts, native.

So what is Spags' Maine connection? It all started in 1993 when he first came to Orono to be on legendary coach Jack Cosgrove's staff as Defensive backs coach. The following year, Spags was promoted to Defensive coordinator and Linebackers coach.

Clearly his two years in Orono are what truly made Spags into the defensive genius that he is. It's simply amazing how much Maine creates a positive impact on so many people.

Congrats to Spags on the record. Here's to be many more years of success. That Maine blood runs deep.