Steve Spagnuolo remains a beloved figure in a family-run, loyal New York Giants organization. A two-time Giants defensive coordinator who helped the team win the 2007 Super Bowl. A former interim Giants head
coach. A potential future Hall of Famer. A wonderful defensive coach, and, by all accounts, an equally good human being.
Is he, though, a head coach? More to the point, is he the right person to be the next head coach of the Giants?
Spagnuolo failed miserably in his first head-coaching gig. From 2009-2011, he went 10-38 (.208 winning percentage) with the St. Louis Rams. The Rams were a mess at the time, but the record is the record and aside from four games as Giants’ interim head coach after Ben McAdoo was fired in 2017 he has never gotten a second chance. It is possible, in fact, that no one has ever considered Spagnuolo for a second chance.
At 65, Spagnuolo still burns for that opportunity.
“Over the years, we have usually at the end of seasons asked Steve Spagnuolo if he does still have desire,” Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star told the ’Valentine’s Views’ podcast. “And every year we’ve done it, he has maintained that there is still a burning in him where he would like to be a head coach or at least get another crack at it. And so I don’t think that’s changed even as he gets to be one of the older coordinators in the NFL.”
It seems like Spagnuolo, with four Super Bowl titles as a coordinator on his resume, his familiarity with what it looks like when it is both good and bad in New York, and his deep ties to the organization, would be a natural candidate for the Giants job.
“Just considering the connections with the Giants, I think it makes sense that he’s going to be heavily considered,” Sweeney said.“ Actually, when [Brian] Daboll was fired, I did ask Steve Spagnuolo, and I framed it as, look, I know where you’re probably going to go with this, but you’ve been connected to the Giants.
“And he quickly said, look, we’re playing Houston or whoever it was at the time of the question. And so I didn’t really want to talk about it, but I think those conversations and those questions can happen once the Chiefs are eliminated. And I tend to think you’ll get the same answer that we’ve heard over the years, that he would love another opportunity to jump into a head coaching position.”
The Giants had an opportunity to give Spagnuolo the head-coaching job in 2018. Instead, they gave it to Pat Shurmur. Two years later, Joe Judge replaced Shurmur. Two years after that, Daboll replaced Judge. Now, the Giants are looking again.
Could they have saved themselves a lot of aggravation by just giving the job to Spagnuolo in the first place?
“I think that time or in the time period where the Giants did let him walk, so to speak, there was a push around the league for offensive head coaches and sort of trying to get the next big idea,” Sweeney said. “And I don’t know, I think as the years have gone on, I’m sure a lot of NFL owners have learned that maybe the sexiest quote-unquote decision isn’t necessarily the right one.
“And I think that’s maybe why you’re starting to see Steve Spagnuolo at least get some attention again.He did have attention from the Las Vegas Raiders in the last cycle. They ended up going in a different direction, but I tend to think you’re right in saying that it’s now or never. Just considering the age, considering, I think for Spags because of that time when he was a head coach with the Rams, there’s been a lot of hesitant owners.”
It could be that the Giants might be the only organization that would seriously consider giving Spagnuolo the second opportunity he seeks, something Sweeney said would likely be “the final part of what has been an illustrious career.”
“I think the Giants ownership knows him well, and he’s, he’s favorable to them,” Sweeney said. “And I tend to think that if it’s not going to be with the Giants, who he has all these great connections with, of course, the championships, I tend to think that he won’t get an opportunity elsewhere and probably would retire eventually as the defensive coordinator of the Chiefs whenever Andy Reid was done.”
One of the biggest jobs for any coach with the Giants is going to be to establish a standard, a culture, and to hold players accountable.
Spagnuolo has the rings and the credibility, and knows what winning looks like in New York. Does he have the personality and fortitude to do that?
“Yeah, well, people love to play for Steve Spagnuolo,” Sweeney said. “And I think one of the things that you run into when it comes to player responsibility and player maturity is you don’t really see that a ton with teams that are winning. I mean, these type of things tend to come up when, you know, you’re playing for nothing for the second half of the year, much like the Giants have been doing.
So I think a big part of that would be having success. And again, I think Spagnolo is a player’s coach, and he puts in the scheme and develops a scheme that the players truly believe in. And naturally, I think that makes players want to go to work and treat it, you know, as their full time job a little bit more.
“I think just considering Spagnuolo, his history, his aptness for being able to build a culture, I think could reverse some of those things that went wrong off the field this year.”
Another question for a defensive-minded coach like Spagnuolo would be what his development plan would be for Jaxson Dart, and who he would bring in to run the offense. Sweeney floated the idea that Spagnuolo, who was with current interim head coach Mike Kafka for three years in Kansas City, might be one person who could convince Kafka to stay in New York and run the offense with autonomy as offensive coordinator.
“There’s a lot of names and I bet you there are a lot of up and coming good offensive minds that’d be really willing and eager to work with Spagnuolo,” Sweeney said. “And again, from that standpoint where you’re going to have Spags come in and be a head coach, but really I think he would put all of his attention and focus into the defense.
“Whoever that offensive coordinator would really truly, I think, be the offensive head coach, quote unquote, for the Giants.”
Whether Spagnuolo will be a serious candidate for the job remains to be seen. Sweeney, like a lot of those who have crossed Spagnuolo’s path, would like to see him get one more chance to sit in the big chair.
“I think there are a lot of reasons to hire Steve Spagnuolo,” Sweeney said. “And I think part of the thing that he’s fighting and I kind of nudged along is a lot of owners. I think it’s 18 to 12, something like that. They want an offensive head coach. And so he has that working against him, but I’ll land on that point. If it’s not the Giants, I just don’t think it’s going to happen to Spags and man, it would be great to see such a great guy just get another crack at it before he’s done coaching.”
