Report: Spagnuolo Expected To Remain Giants' Defensive Coordinator
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It looks like Steve Spagnuolo will be the Giants defensive coordinator next season.
When new head coach Ben McAdoo announced last week during his introductory press conference that his roster of assistants was still a work in progress, some speculated that Big Blue could make a change on the defensive side of the ball, where New York had the worst statistical unit in the NFL this season.
Then, a report out of Philadelphia this past weekend said the Eagles were interested in talking to Spagnuolo about their vacant defensive coordinator position. It was believed the Giants had no interest in allowing the Eagles to talk to Spagnuolo.
On Monday we started to understand why as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that New York intends to keep Spagnuolo right where he is.
The Eagles have spent their offseason chasing Giants around.
Before eventually settling on former Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson as head coach, a move that is expected to be made official this week, the Eagles had more than casual conversations with McAdoo and Tom Coughlin about replacing the fired Chip Kelly.
However, it quickly became evident that McAdoo was never going to be allowed to leave the Giants and he was eventually promoted to head coach. Meanwhile, Coughlin, who resigned Big Blue's top job two weeks ago after a 12-year run, took himself out of consideration reportedly because he wouldn't have been able to take many of the coaches on his former staff with him.
The Eagles then momentarily turned their attention to Spagnuolo.
Assuming Spagnuolo does indeed return to the Giants, he'll have a lot of work to do next season. New York, which finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, struggled to stop opposing offenses, especially against the pass as it it allowed 299 yards per game. The Giants, however, seem to believe the problems had more to do with an overall lack of talent and key injuries than because of Spagnuolo's schemes.
Spagnuolo put together a tremendous defense with the Giants back in 2007, one that eventually played a big role in the team winning the Super Bowl. Following another successful season with New York in 2008, he was hired as head coach of the St. Louis Rams, but went just 10-38 in three seasons and was fired.
Spagnuolo then took assistant jobs with the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens over the next few years before landing with the Giants again in his old role last winter.
