OK..One last time for the year

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Strike_King

Is Spagnuolo definitely headed to Washington?I know he's been talking with them but didn't know if it was serious?I know Snyder would open his checkbook to lure him to a division rival....

Not sure. He had an interview for the job today, after the victory parade in NY. But some of the ESPN pundits think that Jim Fassell has the inside track on the job (prior head coaching experience) and that Spags is just going through the motions. Defensive coordinators don't always make the greatest head coaches--Romeo Crennell being the leading example. Buddy Ryan is another. And Spagnuolo is just a kid, really. His mentor, Jim Johnson, has been the DC in Philly forever and has apparently never considered a head coaching job.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Strike_King

Fassel doesn't excite me at all.If I remember,didn't he have a hard time controlling the locker room?True on DC's,but he'd be taking over a playoff team.Not a bad way to get your first HC job. Being the LB's coach with the Eagles,DC with the Giants,he's got quite the knowledge of the NFC East.

My feeling was that the Giants' locker room was uncontrollable as long as Tiki Barber, and to a lesser exten Shockey, were doing their thing. Fassell was seen as too close to the players, so they brought in a tough guy like Coughlin, which also didn't work out at first. He alienated some of the older players with ticky-tack rules like having to be 5 minutes early to a team meeting, and I really think that Barber undermined him at every turn. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but the Giants turned into monsters on the field about the same time that Shockey broke his leg.

If Spags takes the job he'll be working for the worst owner in sports. Worse than Jerry Jones, who does know a little bit about football and played the game in college. Worse even than George Steinbrenner at the height of the Bronx Zoo. The NFC east is going to be a dogfight. This year's playoff team could easily go 7-9 next year with a key injury and losing a few tough divisional games. It's certainly not out of the question for even the Giants to go 10-6 and lose a tiebreaker for the last wild card. The only NFC team right now tht I would say is close to a play-off lock for next year is the Seahawks who play in a horrible division. And it's certainly not out of the question for the Cardinals to have a great season and beat them out.