"As Steve Spagnuolo, the new defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, knows, the worst thing an NFL coach faces isn't getting fired, it's silence.

Certainly, that was the dreaded prospect in the Spagnuolo household Jan. 2, when, as expected, he was sacked by the St. Louis Rams after three years as their head coach. It turned out, however, the NFL doesn't see Spagnuolo as a man whose time has run out."