"Let me be the first to welcome new New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to New Orleans, where the search for great defensive football now enters its second decade. Spagnuolo will be the fifth defensive coordinator to coach in New Orleans in the past 12 seasons. Each of his four predecessors -- Ron Zook, Rick Venturi, Gary Gibbs and Gregg Williams -- took over the Saints' defense with great fanfare, and each left town pilloried.

The last defensive coordinator to leave New Orleans on good terms might have been Monte Kiffin in 1995. Or Steve Sidwell before him.

The position hasn't exactly been a launching pad for head coaching gigs. But if Spagnuolo can work his magic in New Orleans, he'll almost surely receive a second seat in the big chair after a failed three-year run as head coach in St. Louis.

The good news for Saints fans is Spagnuolo appears up for the job. He certainly won't be intimidated. The man cut his teeth coaching in the chain-link octagons of Philadelphia and New York.

It remains to be seen what Spagnuolo's plan will be in New Orleans. We probably won't hear from the new defensive chief until next week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile. His track record suggests a tweaking of the Saints' defense rather than an overhaul will be in order."