Steve Spagnuolo Deserves Credit

In February 2008, Steve Spagnuolo was tasked with stopping the offense of an undefeated team, headlined by Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and coached by Bill Belichick.

- Geoff Magliocchetti

In February 2008, Steve Spagnuolo was tasked with stopping the offense of an undefeated team, headlined by Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and coached by Bill Belichick. His assignment over the final four weeks of the 2017 season however, may have been the most difficult task he’s ever had to deal with.

Spagnuolo, the New York Giants defensive coordinator, was called upon to become the interim head coach in place of the departed Ben McAdoo, and to oversee the final month of what became the worst season in Giants history. The Giants, by then 2-10 and eliminated from the playoff conversation before the Yankees, were a team in complete and utter shambles. The only good thing to come from this season is that New York did eventually snag the second overall pick of the draft…but it sure wasn’t intentional.

But under Spagnuolo, the Giants resembled something they struggled to be all season: an NFL-caliber football team. Controversies didn’t completely disappear, as Eli Apple potentially exited with one last episode, but in their final four games, a spark, a show of heart, and finally effort were all on display for Spagnuolo.