Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Dan Benton

Ex-Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo wins 2024 PFWA Paul ‘Dr. Z’ Zimmerman Award

Former New York Giants defensive coordinator and interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo has been named a recipient of the 2024 PFWA Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award.

Spagnuolo, who currently serves as defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, won the award alongside Tennessee Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan.

The Dr. Z Award is given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL. The award is named for (Paul) Zimmerman, who covered the NFL for 29 years as Sports Illustrated’s lead pro football writer. His impact on the writing and football industries was profound.

An offer for Giants fans

For the best local North Jersey news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to NorthJersey.com.

Zimmerman is widely considered one of the best football writers of all time, and his 1970 “A Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football” and revised 1984 “The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football” are textbooks to this day for young football writers trying to learn the game and trying to learn to write about the game.

He started to cover the NFL in 1966, and he started at Sports Illustrated in 1979. Zimmerman stayed at SI until his writing career was cut short by a series of strokes in November 2008. He served as PFWA president during the 1982 season.

Spagnuolo served two stints as the Giants’ defensive coordinator from 2007-2008 and again from 2015-2017. He was interviewed for the full-time head coaching job in 2018 but was ultimately passed over in favor of Pat Shurmur, who did not retain him.

Spagnuolo took over as Chiefs defensive coordinator in 2019 and has gone on to win three Super Bowl titles with the team, bringing his career total to four.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.