Silvagni's defensive skills were renowned and earned him the status as a true clubman at Carlton. In 1996's AFL Team of the Century, Silvagni had the honour of being named at full-back. A title he was bestowed with after it was discovered that players not already in the AFL Hall of Fame were ineligible for selection at the time meaning that players of the quality of David Dench from North Melbourne and Geoff Southby from Carlton two of the games finest Fullbacks were excluded from the selection process even though they later gained entry into the AFL Hall of Fame. He retained the title as the best full-back for four years in succession, although he was also known for his marking and goalkicking ability when playing at the opposite end of the ground in the full-forward position at times, even kicking a bag of 10 goals in Round 16, 1993 against the Fitzroy Lions. Possibly his finest game was in the 1995 AFL Grand Final where he kept Geelong legend Gary Ablett goalless for the entire game. In addition to Silvagni's blanketing tactics, he was also a renowned high-flyer, taking out the Mark of the Year in 1988. However, when one such mark led to an ankle injury, the high-flying aspect of his game largely disappeared. A year after his retirement at the end of the 2001 season he announced that he would make a comeback to assist Carlton, following their penalties for salary cap infringements. He however changed his mind soon after and was not a listed player for the 2003 season. Silvangi also played as goalkeeper for the Australian International Rules team on several occasions, and won the inaugural Jim Stynes Medal in 1998. Silvagni was a five time All-Australian, being selected in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
Post-playing career
After retiring from playing, Silvagni worked as an assistant coach at four AFL clubs, Collingwood, Sydney, Western Bulldogs, and most recently St Kilda from 2007 until the end of 2010. In 2011, Silvagni took on the role of list manager with the fledgling Greater Western Sydney Giants. He returned to Carlton as list manager in 2015, and remains there as of 2019; he was notably active in recruiting former GWS players to Carlton, with nine former GWS players shifting to Carlton in Silvagni's first three recruiting years. Stephen departed the Carlton Football Club on 4 December 2019, following the 2019 AFL season.
Stephen Silvagni married Australian television celebrity Jo Bailey in 1996, and they have three sons. Their eldest son Jack was drafted by the Carlton Football Club in 2015. He played his first match in round 15, 2016 vs Collingwood. Their second son Ben, was also drafted by the Carlton Football Club in the 2018 AFL draft. Since retiring from playing football he has worked in the media as a guest football commentator. Carlton Football Club key defender Alex Silvagni is Stephen's second cousin.
