Lou Spanos (Steelers) our new LB Coach

[shally]

just posted at www.kffl.com the Redskins have hired long time Steeler assistant coach, Lou Spanos, to be LB coach for us

he was under Butler, the Steeler LB coach who is interviewing for the Dolphin DC spot so it looks like a lot of Steeler assistants are moving up..

if nothing else, he should know the LeBeau system and will be a good fit for Haslett

strangely, if you go to the bios on him he was an offensive Center ??? go figure...

[cal_junior]

just posted at www.kffl.com the Redskins have hired long time Steeler assistant coach, Lou Spanos, to be LB coach for us

So 15 years as an assistant position coach? Interesting

[cal_junior]

Here's his bio from Steelers.com:

"Lou Spanos is in his 16th season with the Steelers and his 15th year as a assistant linebacker coach. He is one of only three assistant coaches to be on the Super Bowl XXX, Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII coaching staffs, joining defensive line coach John Mitchell and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
As a defensive assistant, Spanos assists the linebackers and the defensive coaching staff with game preparation, video analysis and scouting of Steelers’ opponents.
A 1994 graduate ofTulsa, he was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at offensive center. Spanos stayed at Tulsa for a year after his playing career concluded to assist coaching the linebackers. He then joined the Steelers as an intern in the scouting department. After his one-year internship, Spanos was promoted to his current position of defensive assistant."

http://news.steelers.com/team/coach/49269/

[fent]

i would say there's little doubt anymore that we're going to at least occasionally run the 3-4.

[shally]

i would say there's little doubt anymore that we're going to at least occasionally run the 3-4.

the one thing that immediately jumps out after that is, where does andre carter fit in then ? he was, arguably, our best conditioned, most reliable, consistent player on defense (not named London..)

no one is a worse fit for the 3/4, and he HATES it with a passion.. that was one of the reasons he signed here inthe first place.. the Niners tried him at LB and he couldnt play in reverse at all, and struggled.. plus, he is too light to play DE in a 3/4.. where do you play him ?

additionally, he is the ONLY player with a No Trade Clause in his contract..

the coaches need to give that one some careful thought and sit down with A.C. soon..

[fent]

the one thing that immediately jumps out after that is, where does andre carter fit in then ? he was, arguably, our best conditioned, most reliable, consistent player on defense (not named London..)

no one is a worse fit for the 3/4, and he HATES it with a passion.. that was one of the reasons he signed here inthe first place.. the Niners tried him at LB and he couldnt play in reverse at all, and struggled.. plus, he is too light to play DE in a 3/4.. where do you play him ?

additionally, he is the ONLY player with a No Trade Clause in his contract..

the coaches need to give that one some careful thought and sit down with A.C. soon..

this is his final season in DC thanks to the void clause in his new contract. i would imagine we'll see the 3-4 worked in gradually so he'll still have some value for us this season. who knows...he may be open to a move to a competitive 4-3 team. perhaps someone like Jacksonville or New Orleans would be interested in him.

[akhhorus]

the one thing that immediately jumps out after that is, where does andre carter fit in then ? he was, arguably, our best conditioned, most reliable, consistent player on defense (not named London..)

He fits in somewhere else lol

no one is a worse fit for the 3/4, and he HATES it with a passion.. that was one of the reasons he signed here inthe first place.. the Niners tried him at LB and he couldnt play in reverse at all, and struggled.. plus, he is too light to play DE in a 3/4.. where do you play him ?

additionally, he is the ONLY player with a No Trade Clause in his contract..

the coaches need to give that one some careful thought and sit down with A.C. soon..

I don't think he has that no trade clause anymore, but if he does: he can either sit on the bench, struggle in the 3-4 or play somewhere else lol.

[Red Bear]

the one thing that immediately jumps out after that is, where does andre carter fit in then ? he was, arguably, our best conditioned, most reliable, consistent player on defense (not named London..)

no one is a worse fit for the 3/4, and he HATES it with a passion.. that was one of the reasons he signed here inthe first place.. the Niners tried him at LB and he couldnt play in reverse at all, and struggled.. plus, he is too light to play DE in a 3/4.. where do you play him ?

additionally, he is the ONLY player with a No Trade Clause in his contract..

the coaches need to give that one some careful thought and sit down with A.C. soon..

some speculate that carter took the no trade clause out during his latest restructure, but its really unknown whether he did or not, just guessing i would assume its still in there. i would also assume if he wanted to request a trade that he would waive that clause. that or we could just cut him and save some money, which sounds ridiculous after the season he just had. im willing to bet we run some sort of hybrid defense atleast this season and until we can get to proper pieces for a 3-4 in place. LBer is definitely gonna be a problem for us if transition to an all out 3-4. ive read somewhere that haynesworth doesnt like the 3-4. he better get used to it though, he complained about getting a new defense, now he has to live with it. ive also read people saying fletcher is too small for an inside 3-4 LBer, but hasnt the guy spent his whole career proving that his size doesnt matter?

[shally]

some speculate that carter took the no trade clause out during his latest restructure, but its really unknown whether he did or not, just guessing i would assume its still in there. i would also assume if he wanted to request a trade that he would waive that clause. that or we could just cut him and save some money, which sounds ridiculous after the season he just had. im willing to bet we run some sort of hybrid defense atleast this season and until we can get to proper pieces for a 3-4 in place. LBer is definitely gonna be a problem for us if transition to an all out 3-4. ive read somewhere that haynesworth doesnt like the 3-4. he better get used to it though, he complained about getting a new defense, now he has to live with it. ive also read people saying fletcher is too small for an inside 3-4 LBer, but hasnt the guy spent his whole career proving that his size doesnt matter?

i dont think that fletcher is smaller than Sam Mills, who thrived inthe 3/4 inside

[SkinsGuru]

He fits in somewhere else lol



I don't think he has that no trade clause anymore, but if he does: he can either sit on the bench, struggle in the 3-4 or play somewhere else lol.

even if he does have a no trade clause, if he really hates the 3-4 so much, do you think he would object to a trade?? He'll probably demand one.

[akhhorus]

i dont think that fletcher is smaller than Sam Mills, who thrived inthe 3/4 inside

Yeah, the only size that matters really is the size of the Dline in the 3-4.

[shally]

He fits in somewhere else lol



I don't think he has that no trade clause anymore, but if he does: he can either sit on the bench, struggle in the 3-4 or play somewhere else lol.


i have no problem taking a hard line with a player who has been lazy, disruptive, non productive or a locker room problem.. carter is none of the above

just saying when you have a guy who works his tail off to be productive and shows up week after week, it would be a shame not to be able to find a way to use a player like that...

[Red Bear]

i dont think that fletcher is smaller than Sam Mills, who thrived inthe 3/4 inside

im not sure about his size compared to sam mills, but my point is/was that fletcher has spent a lot of his career hearing how he is undersized only to go out and perform as one of the best LBers in the league year after year. i often think size is overrated in many instances...

[shally]

even if he does have a no trade clause, if he really hates the 3-4 so much, do you think he would object to a trade?? He'll probably demand one.

agree he would likely waive it under those circumstances.. now, all we have to do is find a GM with the IQ of Vinny to ship us a #2, #6 pick for Carter...lol

[SkinsGuru]

agree he would likely waive it under those circumstances.. now, all we have to do is find a GM with the IQ of Vinny to ship us a #2, #6 pick for Carter...lol

seems the raiders are still out there . . . LOL . . .

[oldskinfan]

If I remember, Carter was courted by the Broncos, where his father Rubin Carter (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8559/index.htm) played DT. I think he seriously considered it and like Shanahan at the time. When he left the 49ers and complained about the 3-4, it was also because the team sucked under new head coach Mike Nolan.

I think if you are Shanahan and Haslett, you find a way to use Carter at least through his contract, and I think Carter will give it a shot. He may be asked to bulk up to 280 to play DE in the 3-4. His sacks may go down, but he was never too concerned about that and is a decent tackler and hard worker.

My guess is he will probably eventually sign back with the 49ers and Mike Singletary as his career winds down. He loves the San Fran area.

[Skins7ny]

the one thing that immediately jumps out after that is, where does andre carter fit in then ? he was, arguably, our best conditioned, most reliable, consistent player on defense (not named London..)

no one is a worse fit for the 3/4, and he HATES it with a passion.. that was one of the reasons he signed here inthe first place.. the Niners tried him at LB and he couldnt play in reverse at all, and struggled.. plus, he is too light to play DE in a 3/4.. where do you play him ?

additionally, he is the ONLY player with a No Trade Clause in his contract..

the coaches need to give that one some careful thought and sit down with A.C. soon..
If we are moving to a full-time 3-4, the smart thing to do is try to trade Carter without giving any inkling that he does not fit in our plans. That said, I could see him being a situational rusher for us during obvious passing downs. It is a shame (if true), he really did an outstanding job playing the run in a 4-3 this past year, but he is too small to play DE in a 3-4and cannot play LB.
agree he would likely waive it under those circumstances.. now, all we have to do is find a GM with the IQ of Vinny to ship us a #2, #6 pick for Carter...lol

Surely Vinny, with his College Championship Ring, and his Super Bowl Ring, and his history of outstanding draft picks dating back to San Francisco, has been snapped up by someone by now. Hasn't he? :)

[Moe]

the one thing that immediately jumps out after that is, where does andre carter fit in then ? he was, arguably, our best conditioned, most reliable, consistent player on defense (not named London..)

no one is a worse fit for the 3/4, and he HATES it with a passion.. that was one of the reasons he signed here inthe first place.. the Niners tried him at LB and he couldnt play in reverse at all, and struggled.. plus, he is too light to play DE in a 3/4.. where do you play him ?

additionally, he is the ONLY player with a No Trade Clause in his contract..

the coaches need to give that one some careful thought and sit down with A.C. soon..

Certainly something to watch but if this team is only going to use elements of the 3-4 then he still fits. Shanny is primarily an offensive guy but one of his strengths has been adjusting to his personnel, so maybe that will trickle down to the D side as well. Worst case, he's a valuable assest that the team could use in a trade.

[akhhorus]

i have no problem taking a hard line with a player who has been lazy, disruptive, non productive or a locker room problem.. carter is none of the above

just saying when you have a guy who works his tail off to be productive and shows up week after week, it would be a shame not to be able to find a way to use a player like that...

I don't think its the skins "taking a hard line" with him. Carter won't fit in the Skins' new defense. Its only fair to him to give him a chance to play somewhere else especially since next season is a contract year for him(since we'll decline his option).

[Brokenstriker]

Surely Vinny, with his College Championship Ring, and his Super Bowl Ring, and his history of outstanding draft picks dating back to San Francisco, has been snapped up by someone by now. Hasn't he? :)

that's cold man ...

... I love it!:beer:

[coffdogg]

So 15 years as an assistant position coach? Interesting

Intersesting?Sounds downright depressing to me. He wasn't capable for 15 years to be a LB coach and now we hire him for that. Not very reassuring

[coffdogg]

even if he does have a no trade clause, if he really hates the 3-4 so much, do you think he would object to a trade?? He'll probably demand one.

Or demand to be waived

[ZClake]

The Steelers LBs are usually very solid. Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison, Lamar Woodley, James Farrior. That one guy Fox isn't bad either.

[cal_junior]

The Steelers LBs are usually very solid. Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison, Lamar Woodley, James Farrior. That one guy Fox isn't bad either.

Yeah, but his bio doesn't make it sound like he actually coached any of them:

"As a defensive assistant, Spanos assists the linebackers and the defensive coaching staff with game preparation, video analysis and scouting of Steelers’ opponents."

[redcayman]

Graduating in 94 makes him about 39-40 ish?? Still pretty young for a coach maybe this is the promotion he is looking for. If nothing else he will provide a wealth of info from one of the best Defenses in the league.

[Red Bear]

If I remember, Carter was courted by the Broncos, where his father Rubin Carter (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8559/index.htm) played DT. I think he seriously considered it and like Shanahan at the time. When he left the 49ers and complained about the 3-4, it was also because the team sucked under new head coach Mike Nolan.

I think if you are Shanahan and Haslett, you find a way to use Carter at least through his contract, and I think Carter will give it a shot. He may be asked to bulk up to 280 to play DE in the 3-4. His sacks may go down, but he was never too concerned about that and is a decent tackler and hard worker.

My guess is he will probably eventually sign back with the 49ers and Mike Singletary as his career winds down. He loves the San Fran area.

denver and san fran both play 3-4 defenses, if he is asking to be traded or released because were going to run a 3-4 then it makes no sense for him to sign with another 3-4 team.


Intersesting?Sounds downright depressing to me. He wasn't capable for 15 years to be a LB coach and now we hire him for that. Not very reassuring

i believe i read he worked with the LBers during his time in Pittsburgh. i'm sure he has picked up on a lot of football during that 15 years. shanahan probably had him down on a list of potential coaches since he visited pittsburgh this past offseason.

no matter what defense we run a 3-4 or 4-3, i just hope its an attacking defense that can dictate to an offense rather than one that sits back and gets dictated to

[akhhorus]

The Steelers LBs are usually very solid. Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison, Lamar Woodley, James Farrior. That one guy Fox isn't bad either.

Well, not just that, but they always find flawed vets/rookies and make them into good contributors. I don't know how much input Spanos had in that, but he probably know the secret.

[esmith1790]

i dont think that fletcher is smaller than Sam Mills, who thrived inthe 3/4 inside

Just trying to compare off the top of my head.

Mills - what 5-9 say 235/240
Fletcher 5-10 say 245/250

i am guessing at the average OL when mills played. 6-4 say 300/310
Now almost all lineman are what 6-4/6-6 320-340ish?


I think people when people use that quote some are implying going against huge OL compared to the OL when Mills played.

[Geordieskin]

Guys

I might be missing something here, so feel free to correct me, but do we believe Shanny is a proper HC? If we do then do we value his judgement? If we do why the negativity about his hires?
The Longhoughton skins ( a long way from DC I know) are more than ready to give Shanny all the support as he is a legitimate leader of this franchise we all hold so dear.
As for Carter I think Shanny will use him rather than lose him as he is quality. However if he doesn't want to fit in the new system then however good he is it's trade time. Same for CP (although I personally love attitude however misguided at times - he CARES()

HTTR

[firehawk157]

Guys

I might be missing something here, so feel free to correct me, but do we believe Shanny is a proper HC? If we do then do we value his judgement? If we do why the negativity about his hires?
The Longhoughton skins ( a long way from DC I know) are more than ready to give Shanny all the support as he is a legitimate leader of this franchise we all hold so dear.
As for Carter I think Shanny will use him rather than lose him as he is quality. However if he doesn't want to fit in the new system then however good he is it's trade time. Same for CP (although I personally love attitude however misguided at times - he CARES()

HTTR

I know you are referring to a single person, so it's best to go ahead and direct your comment to that particular person so everybody else knows what you are talking about.

Secondly, this is a forum. Whether you agree or disagree with Shanahan's decisions is almost irrelevant. The point is we're here to discuss the positives and negatives and possible pitfalls. It's fine if you don't agree with Shanahan's assessment of potential new coaches, just bring some good logic why you don't. The whole line of, "who knows football more, you or XXXX coach/FO guy" doesn't work here.

[firehawk157]

Intersesting?Sounds downright depressing to me. He wasn't capable for 15 years to be a LB coach and now we hire him for that. Not very reassuring

So what do you expect??? You expect a highly regarded position coach to just give up his job to come to DC because, uh, why? It's a freakin' position coach, you hire them from assistant position coaches or former players, etc... I'll check and see if Junior Seau is available if that would make you happier....

[Geordieskin]

I know you are referring to a single person, so it's best to go ahead and direct your comment to that particular person so everybody else knows what you are talking about.

Secondly, this is a forum. Whether you agree or disagree with Shanahan's decisions is almost irrelevant. The point is we're here to discuss the positives and negatives and possible pitfalls. It's fine if you don't agree with Shanahan's assessment of potential new coaches, just bring some good logic why you don't. The whole line of, "who knows football more, you or XXXX coach/FO guy" doesn't work here.

As it happens I am not referring to a single person (If I have something to say to a person I will say it - guaranteed) I genuinely believe that this thread was negative towards the hire and put forward my opinion and I fail to see what has stirred you up. I am new to this forum (8 posts or whatever) and am trying to contribute so lighten up - unlike you I have no axes to grind. It seems that you think I disagree with Shanahan - not the case - read my post again. I think Shanahan is doing a good job.

[Swirvi]

How sure are we that we are even going to switch to a 3-4 defense? It makes no sense to me to do that. We have SO MANY holes on this team to fill, that it doesn't make any sense to create a new defensive system which will result in MORE holes to fill. None of our DEs currently would fit the role of a 3-4 DE (save for Phillip Daniels who HAS GOT to be done now). Fletcher may or may not be too small and we don't even have enough linebackers for a 4-3, let alone the 3-4.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I think it would be a huge mistake to switch to the 3-4 now. Maybe a few years down the road when we have our offense intact and our corners and safeties are in place, we can blow up the front 7. I just think its more of a headache than anything right now. As much as we all want to just blow the whole team up, you can't just start completely from scratch.

[ChiefPowhatan17]

On the up and up. this is good. We need change around here, Not thrilled to have to obtain an LB or 2, but I bet we play a hybrid 3-4 to 4-3, depending on the grouping of players. Maybe they will have to draft an LB to do this, that takes away a pick from the offense, which means that Campbell and Portis' jobs are becoming more secure by the day.

[VegasSkinsFan]

If or when we throw in the 3-4 look...does anyone think that youngs guys like Gatewood or Henson might do ok? Also, does anyone think that Haslett might give Odell Thurman a look? GO SKINS !!!!

[skinsfan36]

like this hire i hate the steelers but their d is always in the top 5 when healthy.