According to nationalfootballpost.com, New Orleans can thank Drew Brees for Steve Spagnuolo.
The Saints' new defensive coordinator had his choice of a number of jobs. Among the other teams that either were in hot pursuit or had expressed interest were the Eagles, Falcons, Colts, Buccaneers, and Vikings. It came down to the Eagles and the Saints, and Spags picked Brees over Michael Vick.
Why? An offense that scores 38.5 points per game can make a defensive coordinator look pretty smart.
Why quarterback stats may be even more worthless than we thought:
In seven career starts against Baltimore, Tom Brady now has thrown six touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
He had no TDs on Sunday and threw two picks, earning a QB rating of 57.5, which is Ryan Leaf territory. But Brady will make his fifth Super Bowl start on Feb. 5, tying former Denver Broncos star John Elway for the most all time.
While acknowledging that the game is played on the field and New England has fairly made the Super Bowl, we offer the following, purely for entertainment purposes:
Teams that score 40-plus in the playoffs now are just 3-20 against the spread the following week since 1996.
Teams coming off wins of 21-plus at home in the playoffs now are just 4-10 ATS the following week since 2002.
And teams favored by seven points or more in conference championships are 3-8 ATS since 1997.
New England smoked Denver, 45-10 on Jan. 14, and entered Sunday's game favored by seven.
Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements is expected to get Joe Philbin's old job of offensive coordinator in Green Bay, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. Philbin was named head coach in Miami.
Brian Schottenheimer was named offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams by new coach Jeff Fisher.
Colts owner Jim Irsay said the Indianapolis team expected to decide on a new head coach this week to replace the fired Jim Caldwell.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was retiring from coaching. The 57-year-old Arians coached Temple from 1983 to 1988.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, on why Sunday was the year's best day.
"The conference championship games create so many great moments, those moments have been given enduring names. The Catch. The Drive. The Fumble. Even perhaps the most legendary postseason game of the modern was a Super Bowl semifinal game, the 1967 Ice Bowl in Green Bay.
"When was the last time the Super Bowl produced something so memorable it was given a name? The Wardrobe Malfunction?
Contact staff writer Don McKee at dmckee@phillynews.com.
Staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this article, which also contains information from the Associated Press.
