Steve Spagnuolo burns for head coaching opportunity

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By Brian McIntyre | NFL.com
Published: June 17, 2012 at 12:56 p.m
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8 ... witter_atl


Fired by the St. Louis Rams after winning just ten of 48 games in three seasons as head coach, Steve Spagnuolo quickly found work as the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator. As eager as he is to get rolling with his new team, Spagnuolo is just as eager for another shot at a head coaching job in the National Football League, reports Greg Bedard in his fantastic "Football Notes" column for The Boston Globe.

"Yeah, there's a burn there, I'm not going to lie to you," the 52-year-old Spagnuolo said. "I think the professional thing to do in this situation is you concentrate all your efforts and all your focus on the job that you have right now.

"I feel lucky I have this job. In this business, you fight every day to keep the job that you have. Now, should the good Lord put another opportunity in front of me to be a head coach, I'm jumping at it, I'm going to run with it. I know that I'll be better having gone through it."

Bedard cites Football Outsiders' "Adjusted Games Lost", a statistic where the Rams ranked 32nd in the 2011 and were the second-most injured team since 2002. The Rams were the most-injured offense and sixth-most injured defense in the NFL a season ago, which contributed to their backslide to a two-win team after winning seven games, and nearly the NFC West, in 2010.

That Spagnuolo was so heavily-pursued following his dismissal by the Rams -- the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles were interested in him -- shows how well-respected he is in league circles. If the Saints defense plays up to its talent level, even without Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith for all or part of the season, Spagnuolo will likely be a top candidate for head coaching vacancies next offseason. This time, he'll be ready.

"I think I'm a better football coach," Spagnuolo said. "I know if given the opportunity again, which I hope happens, I will be a 10-times-better head coach because sometimes you learn more from your failures than you do from your success."

 

[RamFan503]

I can buy into this. I think Spags will have learned from his stint with the Rams. It'll be interesting to see because I think he will get another shot fairly soon. And it doesn't even mean that it was a mistake to let him go at this time.

 

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He might get another shot sometime, but if it's soon, then the Saints are going backwards. Aside from whatever happens with Spags, I'm a big proponent of teams trying to keep the same systems around for years. Not that I care what happens to the Saints, mindja. I'm just sayin' in general.

If he does get another shot, he better choose wisely. Not many coaches get another shot after a cluster fuck like that, so he should try to get with a team that has a very strong front office and scouting department. But then again, those teams typically promote from within. One thing's for sure. If some Organization calls him up and says "Hey, we're looking to completely start over and we're in kinda bad cap shape", he should say, "Yeah, no thanks."

 

[RamFan503]

He might get another shot sometime, but if it's soon, then the Saints are going backwards. Aside from whatever happens with Spags, I'm a big proponent of teams trying to keep the same systems around for years. Not that I care what happens to the Saints, mindja. I'm just sayin' in general.

If he does get another shot, he better choose wisely. Not many coaches get another shot after a cluster fuck like that, so he should try to get with a team that has a very strong front office and scouting department. But then again, those teams typically promote from within. One thing's for sure. If some Organization calls him up and says "Hey, we're looking to completely start over and we're in kinda bad cap shape", he should say, "Yeah, no thanks."

Agreed. And if it happens, it will be at that point we will see just how big is his ego.

 

[Anonymous]

He might get another shot sometime, but if it's soon, then the Saints are going backwards. Aside from whatever happens with Spags, I'm a big proponent of teams trying to keep the same systems around for years. Not that I care what happens to the Saints, mindja. I'm just sayin' in general.

If he does get another shot, he better choose wisely. Not many coaches get another shot after a cluster freak like that, so he should try to get with a team that has a very strong front office and scouting department. But then again, those teams typically promote from within. One thing's for sure. If some Organization calls him up and says "Hey, we're looking to completely start over and we're in kinda bad cap shape", he should say, "Yeah, no thanks."

Agreed. And if it happens, it will be at that point we will see just how big is his ego.

IMO, if he has a big ego and cares only about his rep, he will turn that down.

Coaching jobs only come around now and then and either you got the fire or you don't. If you do you take the job.

 

[Anonymous]

By Brian McIntyre | NFL.com
Published: June 17, 2012 at 12:56 p.m
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8 ... witter_atl


Fired by the St. Louis Rams after winning just ten of 48 games in three seasons as head coach, Steve Spagnuolo quickly found work as the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator. As eager as he is to get rolling with his new team, Spagnuolo is just as eager for another shot at a head coaching job in the National Football League, reports Greg Bedard in his fantastic "Football Notes" column for The Boston Globe.

"Yeah, there's a burn there, I'm not going to lie to you," the 52-year-old Spagnuolo said. "I think the professional thing to do in this situation is you concentrate all your efforts and all your focus on the job that you have right now.

"I feel lucky I have this job. In this business, you fight every day to keep the job that you have. Now, should the good Lord put another opportunity in front of me to be a head coach, I'm jumping at it, I'm going to run with it. I know that I'll be better having gone through it."

Bedard cites Football Outsiders' "Adjusted Games Lost", a statistic where the Rams ranked 32nd in the 2011 and were the second-most injured team since 2002. The Rams were the most-injured offense and sixth-most injured defense in the NFL a season ago, which contributed to their backslide to a two-win team after winning seven games, and nearly the NFC West, in 2010.

That Spagnuolo was so heavily-pursued following his dismissal by the Rams -- the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles were interested in him -- shows how well-respected he is in league circles. If the Saints defense plays up to its talent level, even without Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith for all or part of the season, Spagnuolo will likely be a top candidate for head coaching vacancies next offseason. This time, he'll be ready.

"I think I'm a better football coach," Spagnuolo said. "I know if given the opportunity again, which I hope happens, I will be a 10-times-better head coach because sometimes you learn more from your failures than you do from your success."

Funny how they talk different in New Orleans about the same guys.

Steve Spagnuolo eager to get started with Saints

By Greg A. Bedard
| Globe Staff

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...get-started/8KKjcwQTW5kkAxInKzSzzO/story.html

If there is any NFL assistant coach counting the days until training camp starts and players can actually put pads on, it’s Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

To say the Grafton native and Springfield College graduate has been thrown into the fire since the end of last season is putting it mildly.

Spagnuolo, 52, was fired as head coach of the Rams after a 2-14 season that left him with a 10-38 mark in three seasons. With no shortage of suitors, he quickly agreed to become the Saints defensive coordinator after Gregg Williams departed to direct the defense for Jeff Fisher, Spagnuolo’s replacement in St. Louis.

Then the bounty scandal rocked the Saints. The head coach who hired Spagnuolo, Asshole Face, was suspended for the entire season, along with middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma. End Will Smith was suspended for the first four games.

“I can’t wait for the season to get here,’’ Spagnuolo said last week. “A lot has happened in the past five months.’’

Spagnuolo seems eager to resuscitate his career, one that had him as the rising coaching star after he revived the Giants defense and directed the Super Bowl XLII upset of the unbeaten Patriots.

Spagnuolo had his pick of head coaching jobs a year later and decided on the downtrodden Rams. After a 1-15 season, St. Louis tied for the NFC West title at 7-9 but lost the season-ending game to the Seahawks to lose the tiebreaker.

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur took the head coaching job with the Browns and was replaced by Josh McDaniels. Then the lockout hit and prevented McDaniels from working with quarterback Sam Bradford. And once the season began, the Rams were hit with an avalanche of injuries. According to FootballOutsiders.com, the Rams were the second-most injured team since 2002 (after the ’09 Bills).

Spagnuolo was the scapegoat.

“I do feel like we accomplished a lot,’’ said Spagnuolo. “I know that it’s not going to be reflected in wins and losses, but I’m very proud of the staff and the people that put the thing together to get it to where it is now.

“Last year was obviously a little bit different but I feel like we made great strides from 1-15 to 7-9 and on the verge of going to the playoffs, and had it right where we wanted it.

“We didn’t anticipate a lockout, and you get some great development in a young football team in the offseason, so that was kind of stolen from us. And we did not anticipate the injuries.

“The things we couldn’t control were hard to overcome - the lockout and injuries. Yet when it was all said and done, to be honest, I was proud of the way the players fought through a 2-14 season. That’s not easy.’’

The Saints were an easy choice for Spagnuolo, who has settled with his wife in downtown New Orleans.

“I felt a draw here,’’ he said. “I had a great deal of respect for the organization and certainly Asshole Face in having coached against him for a number of years. They had won a Super Bowl, they know how to win and how to do it.

“I just felt that there was a foundation here, all things considered, from top to bottom, including ownership and [general manager] Mickey Loomis to the assistant coaches, that you could build on and continue to be successful. I still feel that way.’’

Even with the bounty scandal.

In some ways, it helps to have an outsider in this situation. Spagnuolo basically told the Saints he doesn’t care what happened before - it’s about what happens from now on.

“I think the players have done a great job with that,’’ Spagnuolo said. “They’re using it, a little bit, as a rallying cry, and I think that’s a good thing. It brings guys together. I do not believe they’re looking behind.

“I feel terrible for Sean because I know it would be very difficult for any football coach at any level at any position to have it taken away from them.

“We’re all very passionate about this game. It has to be eating him up inside not to be with this football team, but in the meantime, we’ll carry the flag for him and move on.

“As smooth a transition as it can be - I think it has been that way and I think that’s a credit to the guys that have been here, certainly [interim coach] Joe Vitt.’’

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...ints-spagnuolo-to-maintain-williams-intensity

The man charged with rallying the troops is Steve Spagnuolo, the former St. Louis Rams coach and New York Giants coordinator who led Big Blue's defense to a Super Bowl victory in 2007.

That resume, and Spagnuolo's air of confidence, appear to be winning over the Saints' veteran players, according to The Times-Picayune.

"He speaks with so much confidence, you have nothing to do but believe in this guy and know he's going to be great for us," safety Roman Harper said. "He's been a head coach in this league, had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator, and you've got to respect this guy. I'm looking forward to working with him more and more."

The man the players call "Spags" has a tough act to follow: His predecessor in the job, Gregg Williams, might have suffered incalculable damage to his reputation -- along with an indefinite suspension from the league -- for his role in the "bounty" saga, but Williams still enjoys the fierce loyalty of his former players.

"You know, Gregg lit a fire that a lot of us aren't going to let burn out. A sense of intensity," Harper said. "And now we understand what it takes to win. Before I don't think we understood it, and we didn't have that complete feeling. But now we've been to the top of the mountain. We know what it takes to get there. And that's what we're trying to do now.

"It's either Super Bowl or bust. And we won't take anything less this year, no matter what our circumstances are."

Spagnuolo has a different tactical approach than Williams, who was famous for his indulgence in blitzes. And he brings a different leadership style as well.

He appears to be the ideal leader to build off all the successful aspects that former coordinator Gregg Williams brought to the Saints defense, while breathing a new life into the unit at the same time.

Williams' arrival in 2009 was one of the best things that happened to the Saints during their rise to a Super Bowl level. He brought a culture change, an aggressive scheme and attitude, and most important, an insane amount of confidence to a struggling defense.

But then even before the bounty scandal erupted this offseason, Williams' blitz-heavy scheme had grown stagnant as offenses learned to adjust. That Saints defense, which ranked second in the NFL in takeaways in 2009, ranked second-to-last in 2011.

The time was right for another scheme change and culture change. And now the Saints can have the best of both worlds -- the veteran players who gained that confidence under Williams, plus a new fire being lit underneath them from Spagnuolo.

The differences in Spagnuolo's scheme and Williams' defense will be significant in some areas. Spagnuolo prefers more zone coverage, whereas Williams used more man-to-man coverage.

But that doesn't mean Spagnuolo will "sit back." He still loves to blitz, having learned at the foot of legendary former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. [b]And he loves to be "multiple," moving players around to different positions in different alignments.

Spagnuolo is having some fun with different formations with the first-team D-line.[/b] During one third-down formation on an obvious passing down during Thursday's OTA, DEs Will Smith and Cameron Jordan shifted to DT and LB/DE Martez Wilson and backup DE Junior Galette lined up on the outside. This won't be the only time we see Spags experimenting as he's known for pressure fronts from the D-line.

"It's extremely aggressive. I think if Spags had it his way, he would like to blitz and pressure on every down," Chamberlain said.

"Spags' defense isn't a sit-back defense. It's still aggressive," Jenkins said. "It's not your all-out pressure that you get from a Gregg Williams defense, but he does have a lot of pressure coming from a lot of different places. And he preaches playing fast and playing downhill."

"It's a lot quieter," safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "And there's a lot more teaching and other stuff going on. But Spags still has a way ... there's not a lot of cursing or anything like that, but he has a way of letting you know when he's serious and when he's disappointed. It gets across."

 

[RamFan503]

I don't blame Spags for much that happened. I have on several occasions defended him and suggested that he should get another year before he was fired. Mainly it was based on how his team fought despite what would have made many teams simply quit. All that said, I'm not sure that Spags would have ever gotten the Rams to the promised land. Sometimes that TAKES being fired before you really can reflect on what you were doing wrong.

I also think that BD and Spags gave this new regime some pretty damn good building blocks to work with. They had to gut the roster and then rebuild - truly rebuild. With no depth to speak of and virtually no way to build depth with what they also faced in FA, they could hardly take a season with normal numbers of injuries. It is truly amazing they did what they did in 2010. 2011 was just a test to see if Spags could keep from slitting his own throat.

Problem is that he was somewhat plagued and I'm not sure he would ever be able to crawl out from under the mud with this team. He needed to move on probably every bit as bad as the team needed to put everything behind them.

As far as his ego goes.... I don't think reputation and ego are even remotely similar. Those that have a huge ego generally think their reputation is better than it is anyway. With Spags, I think that IF he takes a job that has the same pitfalls as were there with the Rams, it will be his ego that makes him do it. In that case, his reputation will suffer if he is not successful, but his ego won't let him consider that a priority before hand.

 

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I don't blame Spags for much that happened. I have on several occasions defended him and suggested that he should get another year before he was fired. Mainly it was based on how his team fought despite what would have made many teams simply quit. All that said, I'm not sure that Spags would have ever gotten the Rams to the promised land. Sometimes that TAKES being fired before you really can reflect on what you were doing wrong.

I also think that BD and Spags gave this new regime some pretty damn good building blocks to work with. They had to gut the roster and then rebuild - truly rebuild. With no depth to speak of and virtually no way to build depth with what they also faced in FA, they could hardly take a season with normal numbers of injuries. It is truly amazing they did what they did in 2010. 2011 was just a test to see if Spags could keep from slitting his own throat.

You have learned much. Soon you will become teacher.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't blame Spags for much that happened. I have on several occasions defended him and suggested that he should get another year before he was fired. 1. Mainly it was based on how his team fought despite what would have made many teams simply quit. All that said, I'm not sure that Spags would have ever gotten the Rams to the promised land. 2. Sometimes that TAKES being fired before you really can reflect on what you were doing wrong.

I also think that 3. BD and Spags gave this new regime some pretty damn good building blocks to work with. They had to gut the roster and then rebuild - truly rebuild. With no depth to speak of and virtually no way to build depth with what they also faced in FA, they could hardly take a season with normal numbers of injuries. It is truly amazing they did what they did in 2010. 2011 was just a test to see if Spags could keep from slitting his own throat.

4. Problem is that he was somewhat plagued and I'm not sure he would ever be able to crawl out from under the mud with this team. He needed to move on probably every bit as bad as the team needed to put everything behind them.

5. As far as his ego goes.... I don't think reputation and ego are even remotely similar. Those that have a huge ego generally think their reputation is better than it is anyway. With Spags, I think that IF he takes a job that has the same pitfalls as were there with the Rams, it will be his ego that makes him do it. In that case, his reputation will suffer if he is not successful, but his ego won't let him consider that a priority before hand.

1. Agree. That's how I see it too.

2. Good point.

3. Also a good point. I think exactly the same myself.

4. Interesting viewpoint. Well put. Probably all true.

5. Well...I dunno. It's kind of a murky issue but I think we disagree but not in any kind of important way.

...

 

[RamFan503]

I don't blame Spags for much that happened. I have on several occasions defended him and suggested that he should get another year before he was fired. 1. Mainly it was based on how his team fought despite what would have made many teams simply quit. All that said, I'm not sure that Spags would have ever gotten the Rams to the promised land. 2. Sometimes that TAKES being fired before you really can reflect on what you were doing wrong.

I also think that 3. BD and Spags gave this new regime some pretty damn good building blocks to work with. They had to gut the roster and then rebuild - truly rebuild. With no depth to speak of and virtually no way to build depth with what they also faced in FA, they could hardly take a season with normal numbers of injuries. It is truly amazing they did what they did in 2010. 2011 was just a test to see if Spags could keep from slitting his own throat.

4. Problem is that he was somewhat plagued and I'm not sure he would ever be able to crawl out from under the mud with this team. He needed to move on probably every bit as bad as the team needed to put everything behind them.

5. As far as his ego goes.... I don't think reputation and ego are even remotely similar. Those that have a huge ego generally think their reputation is better than it is anyway. With Spags, I think that IF he takes a job that has the same pitfalls as were there with the Rams, it will be his ego that makes him do it. In that case, his reputation will suffer if he is not successful, but his ego won't let him consider that a priority before hand.

1. Agree. That's how I see it too.

2. Good point.

3. Also a good point. I think exactly the same myself.

4. Interesting viewpoint. Well put. Probably all true.

5. Well...I dunno. It's kind of a murky issue but I think we disagree but not in any kind of important way.

...

Dude - you're scaring me. :7up: