The one constant to all the zigs and zags the Jets have taken since firing Eric Mangini has been that not one move has been kept quiet. The good ship Jets has proven to be leakier than the Titanic. Steve Spagnuolo's been badmouthed, Brian Schottenheimer's gone from zero to hero and Rex Ryan's PowerPoint presentations have all been fodder for discussion. So it was strange to find out late on Thursday that Jets owner Woody Johnson and Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo met on Tuesday.
According to Rich Cimini of the Daily News, the meeting was kept quiet at the behest of Spagnuolo's agent. That's a strange move, since it looked like the Jets weren't interested in Spagnuolo and had whittled their list of candidates down to Rex Ryan and Brian Schottenheimer. It's possible that Spagnuolo, who interviewed for the Rams job Thursday and was a candidate for the Lions job that went to Jim Schwartz, didn't want other teams to think that he preferred the Jets.
That's a reach, though, since almost every worthy coaching candidate speaks with whoever is looking for a head coach as a matter of course. Spagnuolo wasn't actively campaigning for the Jets job, he was meeting the team's owner who was overseas when he met with G.M. Mike Tannenbaum. That's essentially the second half to the same interview he had at the start of the month.
Anyway, the leak machine still has Ryan as the clubhouse leader pending the end of the Ravens season. That could make Spagnuolo the big loser of the offseason coaching carousel. The Browns hired Eric Mangini, the Broncos hired Josh McDaniels, the Lions hired Schwartz and Adam Schefter of the NFL Network is reporting that the Rams will hire Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
That would make Spags 0-for-5 a year after he turned down the Redskins coaching job. Spagnuolo's return may make the Giants happy, but trying for and not getting so many jobs isn't going to be a feather in his cap the next time a job comes open.
