Giants Name New Defensive Coordinator
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Giants looked to one of their division rivals to help shore up their porous defense yesterday when they hired Philadelphia Eagles linebackers coach Steve Spagnuolo to be their defensive coordinator.
Spagnuolo will replace Tim Lewis, who was fired this month after three seasons with the Giants.
Coach Tom Coughlin was sufficiently impressed with the 47-year-old Spagnuolo, who has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL, that he hired him without conducting in-person interviews with any other candidates.
Clearly, Spagnuolo’s association with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, whose aggressive, blitzing defenses have confounded the Giants for years, made him an attractive candidate.
“We were looking for a guy who had had the opportunity to work with some of the outstanding defensive people in the league,” Coughlin said. “It is a plus that he knows our division, and it is also a plus that he comes from a program that has Andy Reid as a head coach and Jim Johnson as a defensive coordinator.”
