KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end who reached double-digit sacks twice in his career, Melvin Ingram may have been accustomed to doing things a certain way.
But when the Chiefs traded a sixth-round pick to the Steelers for Ingram, he arrived in Kansas City simply ready do whatever was asked of him.
"I just came in and bought in, just buying into what they already had going on," Ingram said Wednesday. "That's the best way you can fit in in anything. Don't try to come in and do your own thing and don't try to come and be somebody. Just buy into what they got going on and come in and do what they need you to do."
While it can't all be credited to the arrival of Ingram, the Chiefs' defense did a 180 after trading for him. In the first eight games of the season, they allowed an average of 27.5 points per game and gave up 30 or more four times.
In their last nine regular-season games, the Chiefs have given up an average of just 16.0 points and allowed an opponent to score 30 or more only once. They have also lost just one time in the 10 games in which Ingram has played, including last weekend's playoff victory over his former team, the Steelers.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said the defensive players have fed off the passion and physicality Ingram brings to the game. In turn, Ingram has loved playing for Spagnuolo and alongside his current teammates.
"He's a great leader. I think he's a great coach and I think most of all, he's a player's coach," Ingram said of Spagnuolo. "He understands how to relate to the players and how to be there for players, and that's what I think is so good about him.
"He's definitely always in there no matter what's going on. Even in practice, he's always right there, hands on, with you, so that makes him a great coach."
Ingram, 32, enjoys the camaraderie the Chiefs enjoy among their pass-rush crew and sharing the secrets he's learned during his career. (He's picked up a few things since joining the Chiefs, too.)
A free agent at season's end, Ingram was asked if he has a desire to perhaps return to the Chiefs for the 2022 season.
"I've definitely got a lot of desire," Ingram said, "but that's looking too far ahead in the future. I've never been a person that looked far in the future.
"I'm just focused on the task we've got on hand right now, man, and that's trying to win another playoff game and taking it step by step, day by day and game by game. So I'm focused on what we've got going on. I'm not really looking to the future.
He later added: "I came here to try to win a Super Bowl, and and that's what my goals are set on."
