GIANTS: Less than a week after winning the Super Bowl, the New York Giants got the 2008 season off to a good start by retaining defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Just hours after Spagnuolo withdrew his name from consideration for the Washington Redskins coaching job on Thursday, the Giants gave the 48-year-old a new three-year, $6 million contract that will make him one of the NFL’s highest paid coordinators.
“I was happy to have the opportunity to explore that situation,” Spagnuolo said in a statement released by the Giants. “But I am equally happy to be staying in New York and look forward to continued success with the Giants.”
Spagnuolo left the Washington area Wednesday night after more than 16 hours of talks over two days with Redskins owner Dan Snyder. He called Snyder on Thursday morning to withdraw.
“His heart is in New York City,” Bob LaMonte, Spagnuolo’s agent, told The Associated Press. “He loves the ownership. He loves the players. He feels he has to stay there.”
REDSKINS: While Spagnuolo is no longer a candidate for Washington’s head coaching position, former Giants head coach Jim Fassel still hoped to get an offer, league sources said.
Fassel, 58, has been a front-runner the past few weeks, and league sources said he nearly got an offer two weeks ago to replace Joe Gibbs, who retired Jan. 8. The other candidates for the job — Steve Mariucci and Ron Meeks — believe Fassel is most likely to get the position, according to sources close to them, and all expressed some degree of confusion about the process, which owner Daniel Snyder has said he would like to complete this week
As of Thursday night, Meeks, Fassel and Mariucci still were awaiting calls to notify them of their final status, sources said.
Two candidates for the Redskins’ job — Fassel and Meeks — have voiced approval of Snyder’s decision to hire Jim Zorn to run the offense and promote Greg Blache to take charge of the defense. Mariucci has ties to both coordinators, as well, but was not optimistic about his chances of landing the job.
TAYLOR: The bullet that killed Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor ripped first through his right leg and then the left, and possibly came from a 9mm handgun, an autopsy released Thursday said.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request filed after Taylor’s Nov. 27 death, notes a bullet perforated the soft tissues and muscles of the right groin and the right femoral artery, a crucial pathway for blood.
The bullet tore through muscles of Taylor’s upper right thigh, according to the report from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner, then exited the leg and entered the athlete’s left thigh.
A Miami-Dade police report to the medical examiner identified the weapon as a handgun, possibly a 9mm.
Aside from the bullet wounds and a small abrasion on Taylor’s right biceps, no other injuries were noted on the player’s body. Toxicology tests found no drugs in Taylor’s system.
Police said Taylor was a victim of a botched robbery when he was shot in his bedroom at about 1:46 a.m. on Nov. 26. in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. A day later, at 2:41 a.m., he was placed on life support.
He was pronounced dead at 3:35 a.m. on Nov. 27. The autopsy was performed later that day.
Charged with first-degree felony murder and armed burglary in Taylor’s killing are Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell and Venjah Hunte, both 20; and the accused gunman, Eric Rivera, 17. All remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
EAGLES: Tight end L.J. Smith, who was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the month, was given the franchise tag by Philadelphia.
Thursday marked the first day of the offseason that teams could use the tag. Although Smith can receive offers from other teams, the tag gives the Eagles seven days to match. A team signing him would have to give up two first-round picks as compensation.
PRO BOWL: Cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Marcus Trufant are preparing for the open market. Neither knows which team he will suit up for after Sunday’s Pro Bowl.
New England agreed not to give Samuel the franchise tag — Seattle could put it on Trufant — and Samuel figures to lure the kind of money Nate Clements got from San Francisco last March: $80 million over eight years. Clements didn’t have the kind of numbers All-Pro Samuel has had in the last two years, including a league-leading 10 interceptions in 2006.
“There’s definitely always a chance I’ll be back with the Patriots,” he said. “Free agency is what you work hard for, the financial security it brings. I look forward to it, but hopefully I remain a Patriot.
“It’s part of the business, and eventually I will be happy with what I get.”
Several other Pro Bowlers have spoken to Samuel and Trufant, campaigning for their teams. Samuel said Dallas safety Ken Hamlin bought him a couple of mai tais, while Trufant was more coy, only admitting “there are some guys who want me to look where they’re at.”
Trufant smiled broadly when asked if perhaps he could re-sign with Seattle, then have Samuel join him as a Seahawk.
“Would be a nice backfield, wouldn’t it?” he said. “In this league, a hot commodity is cornerback.”
Associated Press
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