Spagnuolo to Washington: Crossing Boundaries, Again?

If you have ever visited any of the key NFC East blogs (i.e. The 700 Level, Mr. Irrelevant), you're likely aware of the disdain that these fans have for the other three teams within their division. In fact, even when they are happy for the other team, they still find a way to crowbar in a little backhand or two. All of us football fans do it, it’s in our blood.

Which is why this piece from the New York Daily News caught my eye. No unit was more heralded in this past weekend's Super Bowl than the defense of the New York Giants; led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Why it was news that the championship team's defensive coordinator was at their celebration parade is beyond me. But the part that followed rang even louder.

Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was at the parade, but afterwards he was expected to board a flight to Washington where he will meet with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder tonight. He’ll meet again with Snyder and his lieutenants tomorrow morning before returning to New Jersey.

Oddly enough, Spagnuolo was with the Philadelphia Eagles as a linebacker coach before taking the gig with the Giants. Its one thing to take advantage of success, but when curious to see what Giants fans think of this development regarding yet another NFC East team, I put on my detective hat and went to work. Big Blue View, a Giants fan blog had the following to say:

Losing Spagnuolo, whose passion, energy and aggressive style turned a porous defense into a dominant, championship-caliber one, would be a devastating blow
to the Giants. The Giants' defenders, who took so well to his aggressive style and executed his complicated blitz packages to perfection, certainly don't want to go into next season without him.

And the Giants General Manager agrees.

Giants GM Jerry Reese understands what he has in Spagnuolo. "We’ll make every effort to keep him," Reese said. "We sure don’t want to play against him with the Redskins because we know what he’ll bring to the table. If he gets a shot at a head coach’s job, Godspeed."

As a Browns fan, I can understand where the G-men are coming from in the fact that it was rumored that Rob Chudzinski was being sought after by the Baltimore Ravens. The quick fix was GM Phil Savage locking Chudzinksi up with a two-year extension, hoping that he can continue to help Cleveland’s assent in the AFC. Perhaps Reese needs to break out the check book, and pronto, if he intends on holding on to the one defensive coordinator that was able to stop the vaunted New England defense. And just happened to do so on the biggest stage possible.

Of course, they can just let him go to the Redskins, only to have him complete the circle by ending up in a front office job with the Cowboys...