He is aware how fortunate he is to be here again, merely days away from taking another defense to his third Super Bowl.
“I’m blessed to be healthy right now and still love it,’’ Steve Spagnuolo told The Post.
He is also aware of his own feelings, as far as what his NFL career has given him, where it has been and where he would like to see it go.
“I’d like to get another crack at a head-coaching job,’’ Spagnuolo said, bluntly. “But I will not, listen, I don’t stay up nights thinking about it.’’
Spagnuolo, at 61, is completing his 22nd consecutive year in the NFL, looking to win his third Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator after gaining rings after the 2008 season with the Giants and after the 2019 season with the Chiefs. He got his first shot at defensive coordinator when Tom Coughlin hired him in 2007 and it was not a long stay. A year after his defense sparked one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, Spagnuolo and the Giants went 12-4, he became a hot commodity and the St. Louis Rams hired him as their head coach.
It did not work out. Spagnuolo sifted through three quarterbacks in 2009 and the Rams went 1-15. They took Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma with the No. 1 pick in the draft and showed great promise in 2010, finishing 7-9. Considered a playoff contender, the Rams flopped in 2011. Bradford was one of many injuries to hit the team, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could not right the ship and the Rams went 2-14. Spagnuolo and his entire staff got fired, along with general manager Billy Devaney.
“I’m a competitor like anybody else,’’ Spagnuolo said. “It didn’t go as great as we wanted to in St. Louis, except for that one year. It’s a proving ground, the NFL is the greatest proving ground of all sports. So that part of it, I’d like another shot.’’
Spagnuolo was 51 when he got the boot in St. Louis. He endured a brutal season with the Saints and then regrouped with the Ravens, returned to the Giants to work on Ben McAdoo’s staff and then got a break when Andy Reid, who gave Spagnuolo his first NFL chance with the Eagles, picked him to reorganize the defense in Kansas City.
“Being with Andy Reid, there’s no other head coach I’d rather be with,’’ Spagnuolo said. “He’s terrific to work for, he’s a personal friend. The guy’s great. Rock solid. All the things you hear about him are true. Have you ever heard anybody say a bad word about him? He’s the best. If all of us could say they have a great job and work for people they love to be around, what’s better than that?’’
It is not a bad gig. Spagnuolo, though, is confident if gets another opportunity, he will be a better head coach the second time around.
“I do,’’ he said. “The one thing you know in any business is we learn most from the mistakes that we make, and the experience.
I think around the world in any job, in any profession, I’m not sure if experience is valued as much as it should be, but that’s just me.
“Listen, my total focus is on what’s going on now and I’m glad we’re still working and coaching in February, that’s always nice.’’
It is not a bad gig. Spagnuolo, though, is confident if gets another opportunity, he will be a better head coach the second time around.“I do,’’ he said. “The one thing you know in any business is we learn most from the mistakes that we make, and the experience. I think around the world in any job, in any profession, I’m not sure if experience is valued as much as it should be, but that’s just me.“Listen, my total focus is on what’s going on now and I’m glad we’re still working and coaching in February, that’s always nice.’’
