THE DC SEARCH: Spagnuolo, Nolan are of interest
Former St. Louis Coach Steve Spagnuolo had a great defense in New York. (Seth Perlman / Associated Press)
The top two candidates for the vacant defensive coordinator position are Steve Spagnuolo and Mike Nolan.
Despite revamping the secondary and trying to bolster the pass rush, the Falcons struggled to improve their pass defense. Since 2008, they’ve ranked 21st (2008, 220.4), 28th (2009, 241.9), 22nd (2010, 226.6) and 20th (2011, 236.6).
“Moving forward, this defense needs to continue its growth and evolution as a passionate and fiery defense, one that is going to fly to the football, disrupt, be opportunistic and capitalized on opportunities to turn the game around; flip the game in critical situations,” Dimitroff said. “We’ll look for a coordinator who will [aid] Coach Smith and his approach to putting that type of aggressive defense on the field.”
Having previous ties to Smith is not a prerequisite.
“Obviously, that coordinator is going to work hand-and-hand with Mike Smith in helping to create a very aggressive defense,” Dimitroff said. “Our hope is that we will, in the very near future, land that individual who we think is very appropriate with his approach to helping this defense grow.”
Among the hot names being mentioned for defensive coordinator in coaches’ agent circles are former St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo and Mike Nolan. Former Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio and Smith have worked together in the past, but a reunion is not likely.
The Falcons could get into a bidding war for Spagnuolo, who’s also being courted by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was an assistant coach for the Eagles from 1999-2006.
Spagnuolo is especially attractive to the Falcons because his defenses have performed well in the playoffs. When Spagnuolo was coordinator for the New York Giants, his defense stopped the 18-0 New England Patriots and sacked Tom Brady five times in Super Bowl XLII.
Nolan is considered a 3-4 coach. But Smith’s respect him from their days together in Baltimore runs deep. They could likely mold the principles of Nolan’s 3-4 with Smith’s 4-3 if necessary.
When the team does hire new coordinators, team owner Arthur Blank expects them bring a new set of eyes and expertise to the team.
“Their ability . . . to be totally objective, cold-hearted and unemotional about the young men that we have on the roster [should be an asset],” Blank said. “[We’ll] bring in some folks that will be able to give us maybe some new perspective, maybe some different perspective not only on team questions, but on player issues that we may have as well.”
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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251 comments Add your comment
JoFo
January 14th, 2012
5:07 pm
TOUCHDOWN Niners!!!
Go Niners, Go! Their O is not bad and physical while their D is lights out!!! Falcs could stand to learn a thing or two from the Niners. They r totally “hurting” the AINTS players! Absolutely love it! 
fan of falcons
January 14th, 2012
6:17 pm
watching some real football. Both these teams have the X-FACTOR, the will to win. Looks like a bunch of guys cut lose to play football with an attitude!! Physical and not scared.
JJ
January 14th, 2012
6:40 pm
Dimitrov and Smith have built the Falcons into a team that has consistently
made the playoff. They will make the right hires. For those who criticize
Smith, just remember that he is far and away the best coach the Falcons
have ever had.
JoFo
January 14th, 2012
8:13 pm
YES!!!! Niners win!!!!
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
8:13 pm
Bye Bye Saints. Schooled again by a West Coast team in the playoffs.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
8:14 pm
HoeRam Taint, WhoDumb, SeenThisSaintsLossB4…where are u guys? LOL
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:18 pm
Ha ! Ha ! Ha!Ha! LMAO !……………………………oh my ! I told them Saint Trolls like hiramsaint and Seenthis b4 not to take the 49ers lightly!!!!! LMAO………………….whats a matter boys ?????
Ha ! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Must still be chokin on somthing!!!!!!!!!! LMAO !
SirReal
January 14th, 2012
8:19 pm
WHERE DEY?!! WHERE DEY?!!! LOL LOL LOL Hiram’s Ant? BlindThinkingISee? WHERE DEY?LOL
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:21 pm
I only caught the last 5 mins of it I forgot all about it………………………..Ha! Ha ! Ha ! Saw Breezy laying on his back! ………………………………………..2 n done !!!!! LMAO
Falcon fan
January 14th, 2012
8:22 pm
Yes…49′er….
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:23 pm
They had dem Aints already picked as Suberbowl Winners …………………………..Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!…………..I’ll never let them live this down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:24 pm
oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hiram, where r u ?????????
HA HA HA A HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Fan of Falcons
January 14th, 2012
8:25 pm
In behalf of the Aints, at least they weren’t embarrassed. I like Smitty, but this game pointed all areas we are lacking.
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:29 pm
Wheres Choke,whodat1,and the rest of em braggin about how great the Saints are……………..baloney !!!! You put a good defense out there and they can slow down a high power offense if they can put some points up too !
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:34 pm
well who cares right now this is just too dam funny…………thing is you have to win every game in the playoffs to be the Superbowl Champs…………………….this makes me feel alot better about watching the NFC title game knowing the aints aint playin………………………who dat? ……………….the 49ers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
harleyman
January 14th, 2012
8:41 pm
Who dat watching that super bowl at home with the Falcons?
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
8:46 pm
All levity aside, Alex Smith (gulp) played a game that Matty Ryan can only dream of, at least at this point in his career.
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
8:47 pm
Well , its wait til next year Aint Fans !
MarkATL
January 14th, 2012
8:52 pm
Oh Saints fans!!!! WHERE ARE YOU NOW YOU TRASH TALKING SAINTS FANS!!!! WHO DAT!!!! WHO DAT!!!!!! A TEAM THAT IS 0 – 4 ON THE ROAD IN THE PLAYOFF!!!! YEAH!!! WHO DAT!!! WHO DAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
8:53 pm
Amazing how the Broncos and that throwing machine Tebow can get so many receiver routes where they have 2-3 yards of space sprinting across the field.
Maybe the new OC can help with that.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
8:54 pm
Saints. Typical soft dome team.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
8:56 pm
It was nice to see Brees take some serious shots today. Not because I have anything against the man. After all, he personally resurrected NOLA after Katrina. It’s just nice to see a team actually get some heat on the boy.
MarkATL
January 14th, 2012
8:58 pm
I saw that loss coming for the Aints. No way in hell the Saints can handle that Frisco D.
wow
January 14th, 2012
9:02 pm
The Saints went on the road and scored 32 pts. Atlanta got blown out at HOME last year in the playoffs, and this year failed to score 1 offensive point.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:05 pm
WOW what excuses. WOW what a lame attempt to justify road loss after road loss. WOW what useless information.
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
9:07 pm
We all know about the Falcons but who thought the Saints were going to blow it ? ………..lmao
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:17 pm
Vernon Davis >>> Jimmy Graham
Alex Smith >>> Drew Brees
Frank Gore >>> Chrissierran Ivomasoles
MarkATL
January 14th, 2012
9:26 pm
I don’t see how those stupid commentators from FOX could favor the Saints against the 49ers in their own yard, especially when the 49ers already beat them earlier this season. GO FIGURE!!!!
Clear as day
January 14th, 2012
9:27 pm
If the 49ers are better than San Fran then what does that say about the Falcons…
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
9:27 pm
May not have them to rag but they have eyes and are looking you can betcha on that one ……….seeing what the falcon fans have to say bout the whodatters………this is great! lmao
Sad Truth
January 14th, 2012
9:32 pm
The Falcons aren’t even in the Saints class, so the fact that San Fran is better than N.O. means ATL is not even close to ever winning in the playoffs.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:33 pm
Excuses and cherry picked comparisons are the domain of losers. Welcome, losers.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:34 pm
Interesting that Les Moonves (sp?) President of CBS sitting right next to Pats owner Robert Kraft in his private box.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:37 pm
BTW, I see why the Taint trolls are always over here on the AJC. Despite the fact that the AJC is a junior varsity fishwrap in many ways, NOLA.com is quie possibly the worst “big city” online newspaper site I’ve ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:39 pm
49ers = real men forged in the Singletary fire and molded in the Harbaugh refinery.
Taints = faking soft dome-spoiled poseurs.
hiramsaint
January 14th, 2012
9:40 pm
Alright, guys, enough already.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:40 pm
Maybe the “fine citizens” of New Orleans can all chip in and raise some money to build poor little Jimmy Graham an NFL goalpoast in his backyard so he can practice his menacing dunks during his LOOOOOOONG off season.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:42 pm
At leat you showed up Hiram. Like I said, I hope you don’t spend much time at NOLA.com. I lost 15 IQ points there during my 15 minute visit.
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
9:45 pm
It’s about 3 minutes to midnight for Mr. Tebow.
MarkATL
January 14th, 2012
9:46 pm
Singletary would be another great DC here in Atlanta. Loved him as a player when I was in Chicago, and still love him after leaving our windy city.
MarkATL
January 14th, 2012
9:50 pm
Martz as OC = THE GREATEST SHOW ON TURF FOR ATLANTA!!
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
9:56 pm
Condolences to the Saints fans on their teams early exit from the playoffs……………….ha ! ha ! ha !
ijonathan
January 14th, 2012
10:00 pm
hiramsaint
January 14th, 2012
9:40 pm
Alright, guys, enough already.
===
Seriously? You’ve obviously never been on these boards after a Falcons loss. LOL.
SirReal
January 14th, 2012
10:04 pm
Oh the sour grapes of the Aints fans today. HAHAHA! Well, we have been had your seat ready because we knew after last year that you’d be back after your visit to the west coast. How was the Golden Gate Bridge? Do they still eat Rice-A-Roni? Yeah I know we didnt score but we’re both out now anyway so who cares. The point is that the soda is in the fridge and chips are on the table.
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
10:20 pm
That was funny^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ha ! ha ! ha !
Kramer
January 14th, 2012
10:20 pm
Once again the best team in the NFC, as proclaimed by their fan base on these Falcon blogs, chokes on another playoff game. Oh well, at least it was not to a 7-9 team. None the less, it has made my eveing to see the aint’s go down. Who dey? Da’ 49ers, dats who.
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
10:28 pm
Wonder if D-Led laughed as hard as we all did………I would like to see the whole game I forgot it was on tonight…………..come onnnnnnn hiram,no sense in bring a spoiled sport about it, they will be back again…………………next Season, ha! ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! I told yah the 49ers might be a sleeper !
Dds16To80
January 14th, 2012
10:35 pm
Chin up, Saints fans. At least you’re not in the NFC West. You’d be dead last every year. Oh, wait. You already did that for 30 years. LOL!
Hurst
January 14th, 2012
10:43 pm
SirReal, looks like you’re throwing a BYOB party there. I’ll pass. Oh well, at least the Saints didn’t throw in the towel after we were down 17-0 like a certain team that got embarrassed last week at the Meadowlands would have. The 49ers are a seriously good team; I’ll take a little solace in that.
Michael M.
January 14th, 2012
10:45 pm
ohhhhhhh well, its back to the drawing board,……………………maybe next year. After the first 12 hours are over Saints fans , the reality of being out of it sinks in and you start to get over it but right now the Falcon Faithful have to be loving this……………I sure know I am