EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It has been quite a challenging year for Steve Spagnuolo, his defense and the New York Giants. He is 0-3 as the interim head coach, and he guides the 32nd-ranked defense for a 2-13 team.
That is not the kind of combination that usually correlates to a head-coaching interview. But Spagnuolo will get his chance to be the Giants’ coach. He will receive an interview after the season, no matter what happens in Sunday’s finale against the Washington Redskins.
“He will have a shot,” Giants co-owner John Mara said. “I told him that when we made him the interim head coach, and he will have a shot.”
Spagnuolo, 58, is a long shot, at best. It’s unlikely he has a legitimate chance to land the full-time job, despite his relationship with new general manager Dave Gettleman and the Giants organization. The two men have Springfield College and Giants ties.
“Fine, fine. Absolutely fine,” Gettleman said of their relationship.
It’s going to be too hard for Spagnuolo to receive serious consideration given the way his unit has crumbled this season. All three of the team's player suspensions have come on the defensive side of the football -- the defensive backs room, in particular.
Still, whenever there is an opportunity to sit down with the bosses, there is always a chance, even if it’s slim. It's an opportunity many coaches would welcome.
Spagnuolo does fit the criteria the Giants are looking for in a head coach to succeed Ben McAdoo, who was fired earlier this month after going 11-5 in his first season on the job. Everything fell apart this season.
“I think, obviously, it has to be somebody who has either had head-coaching experience or at least has been a coordinator for a significant period of time, because I think if you don’t have that, the odds are really stacked against you,” Mara said. “It’s not impossible for you to succeed without that, but I think the more experience that that individual has as either a head coach or as a coordinator on either side of the ball, I think is very important.”
Spagnuolo was the defensive coordinator of a Super Bowl winner for the Giants in 2007. Gettleman worked in the front office at the time.
Spagnuolo was the head coach of the then-St. Louis Rams from 2009 to 2011, although not with a great deal of success. He compiled a 10-41 record.
He has been the Giants' defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. He guided a top-10 defense last year, sandwiched between two 32nd-ranked units.
With one game remaining in this current season, he’s not thinking about what is next.
“Yeah, I mean I’ve said this before and I do stick to this, I put the blinders on and I’m focused on one thing,” Spagnuolo said. “It’s nice to know that [Mara reiterated there will be an interview], but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”
It's coming soon enough.