Saints to hire Steve Spagnuolo

[Rambos]

Saints to hire Steve Spagnuolo
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on January 19, 2012, 6:03 PM EST

Saints coach Sean Payton gave lip service to taking his time and talking to a lot of people in order to find his defensive coordinator. In truth, the Saints were zeroed in squarely on the biggest name left on the market.

New Orleans hired Steve Spagnuolo to be their next defensive coordinator, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.

It’s a great fit for both sides. Spagnuolo is a talented defensive mind that knows how to create a pass rush, something the Saints sorely lacks. He can keep New Orleans’ 4-3 defense in place.

It’s an ideal landing spot for Spagnuolo because he can rehab his coaching reputation while playing a lot of games in the national spotlight with a chance to compete for the Super Bowl for as long as Drew Brees is in town.

Spagnuolo interviewed with the Saints on Wednesday. He was the only known coach to talk with Payton about the position since Gregg Williams left for the Rams.

A lot of Saints fans will feel like they’ve upgraded their defensive coordinator spot significantly. We have a lot of respect for Williams and don’t think it’s that simple, but New Orleans certainly did well to land Spagnuolo before a team like the Eagles or Colts tried to hire him.

[Rambunctious]

Glad for Spags.

Hopefully our teams will meet next year in the AFC Championship game.

[HUbison]

Glad for Spags.

Hopefully our teams will meet next year in the AFC Championship game.

and by AFC, you mean NFC.

[punahou]

Saints to hire Steve Spagnuolo
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on January 19, 2012, 6:03 PM EST

Saints coach Sean Payton gave lip service to taking his time and talking to a lot of people in order to find his defensive coordinator. In truth, the Saints were zeroed in squarely on the biggest name left on the market.

New Orleans hired Steve Spagnuolo to be their next defensive coordinator, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.

It’s a great fit for both sides. Spagnuolo is a talented defensive mind that knows how to create a pass rush, something the Saints sorely lacks. He can keep New Orleans’ 4-3 defense in place.

It’s an ideal landing spot for Spagnuolo because he can rehab his coaching reputation while playing a lot of games in the national spotlight with a chance to compete for the Super Bowl for as long as Drew Brees is in town.

Spagnuolo interviewed with the Saints on Wednesday. He was the only known coach to talk with Payton about the position since Gregg Williams left for the Rams.

A lot of Saints fans will feel like they’ve upgraded their defensive coordinator spot significantly. We have a lot of respect for Williams and don’t think it’s that simple, but New Orleans certainly did well to land Spagnuolo before a team like the Eagles or Colts tried to hire him.

While I like the Williams Hire.... I do not like to see that the Saints under Williams had a poor pass rush....

[Rambunctious]

and by AFC, you mean NFC.

DOH! Hahaha... silly me.

[fliptalianstallion]

Best of luck for Spags, I know one difference between him and Williams is that Spags was capable of adapting on defense. He is a great fit for that defense knowing he can get the best out of his players on defense. Hopefully Williams will bring the best out of our defense too.

[HUbison]

While I like the Williams Hire.... I do not like to see that the Saints under Williams had a poor pass rush....

I wouldn't call it a "poor pass rush" under Williams. The Rams under Spags had 107 sacks. In that same time span the Saints had 101 sacks under Williams. That's only 2 extra sacks per season. Not much difference really. And Williams only had a past-prime Will Smith; certainly no coming-to-his-prime Chris Long.

And when you look at the Defense's net yards per pass attempt from 2009 through 2011, the Saints (6.2, 5.9, 6.3) are slightly better than the Rams (7.3, 5.8, 6.3). For reference the league average was 6.2 over that time.

One of the good things about this Rams team is its pass rush. I don't see that the loss of HC Spags and addition of DC Williams will change that fact too much.

[Canadian Rams Fan]

Best of luck Spags. I will always be a fan of yours and follow you closely. I wish you all the best except for when we face the Saints; like next season.

[Tampa_Ram]

Best of luck spags. the saints will be just as dangerous next year with having there awesome offense and a great defense. still wish we coulda had spags as our DC.

[RamOG]

If it wasn't the most awkward ex-girlfriend relationship ever. I would have loved to retain Spags as our D-Coordinator under Jeff Fisher.

[RamOG]

Best of luck to Spags though. I would love to see him headcoaching soon again. I was one of the minute few that was willing to giving him another year, but I'm glad we have Fisher now. I will always have respect for Spags. Since I started watching football/Rams. He is the only coach I respected other than Vermeil. I never even gave Martz an ounce of respect. Best of luck Spags, always have my highest of respects.

[Fettmaster]

Why is this Rams news? I'm tired of reading that guy's name. Sorry to always play devil's advocate, but there ain't a damn thing I will miss about him. At least the Saints don't have to worry about him firing random staffers for no reason and taking down old team pictures.

[sosa39rams]

I love Spags. I wish him all the success in the world, just not when hes playing us. Hes going to finally look really good because his new team will constantly hold 40+ point leads on everyone. Plus, he better get used to playing on Sunday and Monday nights!

[Goldenfleece]

Wow, it's like NFL wife-swapping.

[01d 0rd3r]

Best of luck Spags hope to see you in the playoffs next year.