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Fans, players lobby Giants' Spagnuolo to stay

BY ARTHUR STAPLE | arthur.staple@newsday.com

February 6, 2008

Steve Spagnuolo made sure to stay in town long enough to ride a float in the Super Bowl parade and attend the rally before an estimated crowd of 20,000 fans at Giants Stadium. At both stops, the architect of the Giants' dominating defense heard the same plea: "One more year."

But Spagnuolo left Giants Stadium yesterday afternoon, hopped a private jet and went to Washington, where he was to meet with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder last night and this morning. Spagnuolo spoke by phone with Snyder for nearly 90 minutes Monday night after the Giants returned from Arizona.

"I wanted to be here to celebrate what we accomplished," Spagnuolo said yesterday morning, before he and the rest of the team boarded buses to the city for the parade. "Everything else is still up in the air right now."

Several members of the Giants' front office have said privately that Spagnuolo would be foolish to jump at the Redskins job if offered it. Despite Snyder's penchant for sparing no expense, the Redskins already have a full coaching staff in place, having hired Jim Zorn as offensive coordinator and Greg Blache as defensive coordinator within the last month.

"It just doesn't seem like the right situation for a first-time head coach," a team executive said.

But a person close to Spagnuolo pointed out that when Tom Coughlin hired Spagnuolo away from the Eagles, where he spent eight years as a defensive assistant, the Giants already had a full staff of coaches underneath the first-year coordinator. Spagnuolo had tremendous success with a coaching staff already in place.

Giants general manager Jerry Reese said yesterday: "We'll do everything we can to keep him here. He's obviously been a great asset to us."

Should Spagnuolo, 48, take the only head-coaching job available, the Giants would be left scrambling for a coordinator. Dom Capers, Coughlin's longtime defensive coordinator with the Jaguars, is reportedly mulling an offer to join the Cowboys, but he could still be available. Giants secondary coach Peter Giunta won Super Bowl XXXIV as the Rams' defensive coordinator, so he also would be an option.

Reese was asked about the common practice of teams interviewing assistant coaches from rivals to pick their brains about that team. The Redskins have interviewed former Giants coach Jim Fassel three times, and he is still believed to be the front-runner. The Giants' incredible defensive performance in the Super Bowl, however, could easily have swayed Snyder, who was prepared to talk to Spagnuolo from the moment Joe Gibbs announced his retirement Jan. 8.

"It's an old ploy," Reese said. "You bring a guy in, find out what he knows and try to use it against his team."

The chants for Spagnuolo to stay with the Giants made him smile, and he's heard plenty of pleas from his players. Former Redskin Antonio Pierce led the Giants Stadium crowd in a "Redskins [--]!" chant, and Gibril Wilson said he hoped the warm reception stays with Spagnuolo.

"Spags is an emotional guy," Wilson said. "I hope maybe the fans convinced him he should be here."

But even Coughlin, who said he's spoken with Spagnuolo about the Redskins job, knows an offer would likely mean one of the keys to the Giants' championship would be moving on.

"He's earned the right to explore this opportunity," Coughlin said. "I know he'll make the right decision."