Steve Spagnuolo

Steve Spagnuolo

Spagnuolo while head coach of the Rams in August 2011
Current position
Title	Defensive coordinator
Team	New York Giants
Personal information
Date of birth	(1959-12-21) December 21, 1959
Place of birth	Whitinsville, Massachusetts
Career information
Position(s)	Wide receiver
College	Springfield College
Head coaching record
Regular season	10–38 (.208)
Stats
Coaching stats (NFL)	Pro Football Reference
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1981–1982 Massachusetts (graduate assistant) 1983 Washington Redskins (player personnel intern) 1984–1986 Lafayette (def. line/ special teams) 1987–1989 Connecticut (defensive backs) 1990–1991 Connecticut (def. coordinator/ DBs) 1992 Barcelona Dragons (def. line/ special teams) 1993 Maine (defensive backs) 1994 Maine (def. coordinator/ LBs) 1994–1995 Rutgers University (defensive backs) 1996–1997 Bowling Green University (defensive backs) 1998 Frankfurt Galaxy (def. coord./ LBs) 1999–2000 Philadelphia Eagles (defensive assistant) 2001–2003 Philadelphia Eagles (defensive backs) 2004–2006 Philadelphia Eagles (linebackers) 2007–2008 New York Giants (def. coord.) 2009–2011 St. Louis Rams (head coach) 2012 New Orleans Saints (def. coord.) 2013 Baltimore Ravens (senior defensive asst.) 2014 Baltimore Ravens (secondary) 2015–present New York Giants (def. coord.)

Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo (/spæɡˈnɔːloʊ/, Italian pronunciation: [spaˈɲɲwɔlo]; born December 21, 1959) is an American football coach who is currently serving his second stint as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. Spagnuolo was hired by the Giants after two seasons as a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, and was first hired by the Giants in 2007 after spending eight years on the defensive staff of Jim Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Spagnuolo was hired by the St. Louis Rams in 2009 to be their head coach, but was fired after three seasons. He became the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints in 2012 but was fired after only one year.

Spagnuolo has also worked as a college football assistant coach for the University of Connecticut, the University of Maine, Lafayette College, Rutgers University, Bowling Green University, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He also spent time in the original World League of American Football and its successor, NFL Europe.

Early years

Born in the Whitinsville section of Northbridge, MA, Spagnuolo moved to Grafton as a youth. After graduating from Grafton (MA) High School, Spagnuolo played wide receiver at Springfield College. He assisted the University of Massachusetts football team while pursuing his graduate degree.

Coaching career

Spagnuolo began his NFL coaching career in the Philadelphia Eagles organization in 1999, serving as linebackers and defensive backs coach. He remained there for eight years.

In January 2007, he was hired as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants, under Head Coach Tom Coughlin.

He spent two years in New York, and was the architect of the aggressive defensive strategy against the New England Patriots (the highest scoring offensive team in NFL history) in Super Bowl XLII, which was instrumental in the close victory by the Giants. Following the Super Bowl win and a great deal of praise, Spagnuolo's name was widely circulated for open head coach positions around the NFL.

On February 7, 2008, he took his name out of consideration for the head coaching position of the Washington Redskins. The same day, the New York Giants made Spagnuolo one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the NFL with a new three-year contract, worth roughly $2 million a year.

St. Louis Rams

Following another successful season in 2008, In which the Giants finished the season 12-4 but lost in the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, Spagnuolo's name came up as a replacement for numerous head coaching vacancies once again, including those for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions, but Spagnuolo decided to join with the St. Louis Rams, taking over their head coaching vacancy with a 4-year, $11.5 million contract. Spagnuolo hired Pat Shurmur and Ken Flajole to be the Rams' offensive and defensive coordinators respectively. Spagnuolo then hired Josh McDaniels to be the team's offensive coordinator to replace Shurmur, who left for the Browns' head coaching job.

Spagnuolo's first season saw the Rams go 1-15, the worst record in the league and the worst season in franchise history. After rebounding to 7-9 in 2010, they regressed to 2-14 in 2011, tied with the Indianapolis Colts with the worst record in the league. He was fired on January 2, 2012 after compiling a 10-38 overall record in his three seasons in St. Louis, the second-lowest winning percentage for a non-interim coach in franchise history.

New Orleans Saints

On January 19, 2012, Spagnuolo agreed to terms with the New Orleans Saints to become the new defensive coordinator under head coach Sean Payton, choosing this position rather than an offer from the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Payton was subsequently suspended for the season for his alleged role in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, leaving Spagnuolo to coach the defense without Payton's input. In 2012, the Saints allowed the most yards for a season of any defense in NFL history en route to finishing 7-9 and missing the playoffs for the first time in four years. Soon after Payton's suspension ended, Spagnuolo was fired on January 24, 2013.

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore hired Spagnuolo as a senior defensive assistant before the 2013 season, then promoted him to assistant head coach/secondary coach in 2014.

New York Giants

On January 15, 2015, Spagnuolo rejoined the New York Giants as defensive coordinator.Also, after interviewing to become the Head Coach of the New York Giants (the job was given to Ben McAdoo) it was reported by Ian Rapaport on January 13 that Spagnuolo will remain the team's Defensive Coordinator for the upcoming 2016 NFL season.

Coaching philosophy

Spagnuolo learned under Philadelphia coach Jim Johnson, and shares the same aggressive, blitz-heavy approach as his mentor. (He did not incorporate this philosophy during his time in New Orleans however) and Spagnuolo uses a 4–3 base defense with a heavy emphasis on multiple blitz packages, including corner and safety blitzes. While defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, he often used a smaller defensive line, with three or even four defensive ends to further pressure the quarterback.

This philosophy proved successful, with the Giants leading the NFL in sacks in 2007. During Super Bowl XLII, Spagnuolo's defense sacked Tom Brady five times, the most times he had been sacked in any game that season.

Head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
STL	2009	1	15	0	.067	4th in NFC West	–	–	–	–
STL	2010	7	9	0	.438	2nd in NFC West	–	–	–	–
STL	2011	2	14	0	.133	4th in NFC West	–	–	–	–
Total		10	38	0	.213		–	–	–

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Steve Spagnuolo has served:

• Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2006)
• Tom Coughlin, New York Giants (2007–2008) (2015-2016)
• Joe Vitt, New Orleans Saints (2012)
• John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens (2013-2014)
• Ben McAdoo, New York Giants (2016-present)

Assistant coaches under Steve Spagnuolo who became NFL head coaches:

• Pat Shurmur, Cleveland Browns (2011-2012)

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Ron Rivera	Philadelphia Eagles Linebackers Coach 2004–2006	Succeeded by Sean McDermott
Preceded by Tim Lewis	New York Giants Defensive Coordinator 2007–2008	Succeeded by Bill Sheridan
Preceded by Gregg Williams	New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator 2012	Succeeded by Rob Ryan
Preceded by Perry Fewell	New York Giants Defensive Coordinator 2015–present	Succeeded by Current Coach