Five things you need to know about Head Coach candidate Steve Spagnuolo:
- Steve Spagnuolo just completed the third season of his second stint as the Giants' defensive coordinator. He previously held the position in 2007-08. He served the final four games of 2017 as interim head coach following the dismissals of Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese. The Giants went 1-3 in those games, winning the finale at home vs. Washington.
2. In 2016, Spagnuolo led the most-improved defense in the NFL, propelling the Giants to their first postseason berth since winning Super Bowl XLVI. They allowed 17.8 points per game, the lowest average by their opponents since 2002. The Giants were the first NFL team to allow at least 158 fewer points than the previous season since the 2002 Indianapolis Colts (173 points). The Giants allowed an NFL-low 25 offensive touchdowns.
- Prior to returning to the Giants, Steve Spagnuolo was the assistant head coach/secondary coach of the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. He was originally hired as their senior defensive assistant in 2013. Before that, Spagnuolo was head coach of the St. Louis Rams, compiling a 10-38 record in three seasons from 2009-2011. After winning just one game in his first season, St. Louis improved to 7-9 the next year, but then dropped to 2-14 in his final campaign in 2011.
- Spagnuolo was the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants and led a unit in 2007 that ranked in the NFL's top 10 in eight categories, including a league-high 53 sacks. In Super Bowl XLII, his defense slowed a New England offense that scored a then-NFL record 589 points in the regular season. The Giants' defense held the Patriots to just 274 yards and 14 points after they averaged 411.3 yards per game and 36.8 points per game during the regular season. During his two seasons with the Giants, Spagnuolo's defense allowed 17 points or fewer in 19 contests (they finished 19-0 in those contests). In 2008, his defensive unit finished fifth in yards allowed, helping New York to a 12-4 finish and the NFC East title.
- A 34-year coaching veteran, Spagnuolo is coming off his 19th NFL season and has been part of teams that clinched nine playoff berths, won six division titles, appeared in five conference championship games, earned two conference titles, and won a Super Bowl. His other NFL posts include the Saints (2012), Eagles (1999-2006), and Redskins as a player personnel intern in 1983.
DID YOU KNOW?
Spagnuolo played wide receiver at Springfield College, where new Giants general manager Dave Gettleman played offensive tackle. Spagnuolo was named the school's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1982. He prepped at Grafton (Mass.) High School, where he is a member of the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
