Spagnuolo will remain with Giants

Spagnuolo will remain with Giants

Steve Spagnuolo will remain the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Giants.

Spagnuolo spent Tuesday night and much of Wednesday speaking with Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder about that team’s head coaching position. But after much thought, he has decided to stay with the Giants.

The 2007 season was Spagnuolo’s first as the Giants’ defensive coordinator. Under his direction, the defense improved from 25th to seventh in the NFL rankings, allowing 305.0 yards per game compared to 342.4 the previous season. The Giants rose from 29th to 11th in pass defense (going from 228.1 yards allowed a game to 207.3) and from 14th to eighth in run defense (114.4 to 97.7).

Spagnuolo and the Giants defense did their best work in the playoffs, particularly in last Sunday’s 17-14 victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots’ 14 points was their lowest output in 25 games (since Dec. 10, 2006). New England had averaged almost 37 points a game in the regular season. The Patriots averaged 411.3 yards a game, but totaled only 274 in the Super Bowl. They rushed for only 45 yards and did not have a run longer than nine yards. Tom Brady, sacked just 21 times all year, was tackled for losses five times in the Super Bowl and was hit another 18 times by the relentless Giants defense.

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