Steve Spagnuolo Returns To His Rightful Place As NY GIants Defensive Coordinator
On the surface, it looks like the perfect move. There’s obviously some familiarity. Spags made his name as Giants DC under Coughlin constructing the defensive scheme that captured an improbable 2007 championship & led them to a #1 seed in ’08. His jobs after that haven’t been nearly as successful though – he got his ass kicked trying on the head coach headset in St. Louis, then got caught in the clusterfuck of Bountygate as the Saints DC in 2012. It’s certainly not a slam dunk for Spagnuolo to come back & rekindle dominance as if he never left. Reese needs to be busy this off-season retooling the personnel he’ll have to work with – but players under Spags got better. Fewell didn’t have the same impact & that’s why he’s gone.
Guys like DaMonster, Hankins & (I assume) a new pass rushing threat through the draft should take big steps while JPP (assuming he stays as Mara suggests) will have every opportunity to return to superstardom under a more aggressive attack. There’s still plenty of question marks behind the line, but Spagnuolo’s bread was buttered by the likes of Strahan/Tuck/Osi/Kiwi. If he can come in and replicate similar success up front, the defense will be well on their way to catching up with an offense that’s set to fly high on the backs of Eli, Beckham & Cruz. Welcome home, Spags.