Rams Hire Giants' Spagnuolo as Coach

The St. Louis Rams and Steve Spagnuolo agreed Saturday on a four-year contract to make the New York Giants' defensive coordinator their coach.
The team said in a release that Spagnuolo would be introduced at a news conference at 11 a.m. CST Monday.

"We considered some very qualified and outstanding candidates for this position, but we kept coming back to Steve Spagnuolo," general manager Billy Devaney said in a statement.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the first to report the hiring and said Spagnuolo would be paid just under $12 million.

Spagnuolo replaces Jim Haslett and takes over a team that finished 2-14. Haslett went 2-10 as interim coach after his promotion from defensive coordinator when Scott Linehan was fired following an 0-4 start.

"Billy did a spectacular job of presenting some fabulous candidates," owner Chip Rosenbloom said in a statement. "We're very excited that Steve will be our head coach and are looking forward to an exciting season."

Spagnuolo was the architect of the Giants' sack-happy defense that thwarted New England's run to a perfect season in last year's Super Bowl upset. Devaney was impressed with Spagnuolo's no-nonsense demeanor during an interview in Los Angeles on Thursday.

"There's just a toughness about him," Devaney said. "He represented what we were looking for when this process began."

"Having a guy who's got swagger makes a difference," Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon added. "A guy who can really get guys motivated is going to be a big key."

Spagnuolo was one of five finalists for the job, along with Haslett, Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and defensive coordinators Rex Ryan of Baltimore and Leslie Frazier of Minnesota. Garrett flew into St. Louis on Friday night, prompting speculation he would be the new coach. But he was only here for another interview and perhaps as a backup option in case Spagnuolo was hired elsewhere.

"It wasn't a make or break deal," Devaney said. "Jason was a very strong candidate."