WhoDat!656

Hearing about defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's heave-ho from the New Orleans Saints made me sad. But the reasons had less to do with football and more to do with my son, Paul Morris, now 21, who was diagnosed last summer with Hodgkins lymphoma.

Thanks to Saints cornerback Jabari Greer and A Child's Wish, an organization similar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Paul and I spent a day at Saints training camp in August. That was at the beginning of Paul's treatment, which included 12 grueling rounds of chemo at the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center at Ochsner.

And of the many fine folks in the Saints organization who spent time with Paul that day, Spagnuolo was a standout. He went out of his way to chat with Paul at length, even though he had his hands full, putting the guys through their paces on that hot day.

A little lagniappe came Wednesday in the form of a phone call from a mysterious number with a Missouri area code.
"Who do I know from Missouri?'' Paul said he thought, after getting the call Wednesday night. He couldn't answer it, because he was at work in his job as a cook at Midway Pizza on Freret Street. Then he looked at a text message he got: It was from Spagnuolo.
They got to chat today, and Paul said Spagnuolo told him he was cleaning out his desk and came across the column I'd written about our day at training camp, and Paul's cell number. So Spagnuolo decided to call Paul to see how he was doing.

Steve Spagnuolo may be leaving the New Orleans Saints, but he's also leaving a smile on young cancer survivor's face | NOLA.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

TheOak

Solid character.

arsaint

Good guy - hate it didn't work.

Don't think by any stretch of the imagination that his coaching is responsible for our defense - we don't have enough playmakers.

However, he is certainly not PART of the problem with the defense. Maybe he did not connect with the players or wasn't able to teach them, whatever the reason, a change was needed...

QBREES9

Great guy, I really wished it worked out. Mr Morris God Bless your son. I pray he beats cancer.

Spags has not forgotten how to coach. He'll be fine. It just didn't work out

Rugby Saint II

He just put a smile on this cancer survivors face too.

FinSaint

A stand up guy, which is why it irks me that some people here are completely fine with placing all the blame on him for how the season went down and using derogatory terms about him when doing it.

QBREES9

Again, Spags has not forgotten how to coach.

OldMaid

Very nice. Good for Jabari Green and Spags.
Best thing too, Spags never tooted his own horn about this after all that happened here. That is extra special.
Saints did not work out for him. That is a fact.
This deed is a spearate thing and blessings to Spanuolo as he finds a better fit in his profession. Yes, he is a good guy. Blessings to his special friend, Morris, and family .

73Saint

I don't blame Spags at all. I thought the overall thought process was concept change (3-4/4-3), which really only makes Spags a victim of circumstance. Personally I think had we not changed styles, Spags would still be here. No?