Steve Spagnuolo hiring officially announced by Giants

The cat was already out of the bag, but the New York Giants have now officially announced the hiring of Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator.

Here is what head coach Tom Coughlin and Spagnuolo said in a press release issued by the team.

Coughlin

On the search, and why he chose Spagnuolo ...

"We spoke to a lot of very good candidates," coach Tom Coughlin said. "The energy, enthusiasm and strong personality that we saw before in Steve Spagnuolo, all of that was very evident again. His desire to be a Giant again was very, very obvious."

On what he expects from the new/old defensive coordinator ...

"Steve has so much enthusiasm in front of the room," Coughlin said. "His defense has changed since he was last here. He worked in Baltimore with John Harbaugh and Dean Pees, and they are outstanding defensive coaches. He has studied defenses. Steve visited colleges and talked to college coaches, including Urban Meyer (coach of national champion Ohio State) to learn how to defend the spread offenses that have become so popular."

Spagnuolo

On returning to the Giants ...

"I was hoping to take the next step, God willing, and be a coordinator again. I'm ecstatic that it's with Tom Coughlin. Tom is the highest character guy I know. The feeling I have is one of excitement. We're going to work our butts off, and hopefully we will do great things together."

On his two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens ...

"I want to send out my gratitude to John Harbaugh, Steve Bisciotti and Ozzie Newsome for the opportunity they gave me," Spagnuolo said. "John Harbaugh is a great coach and friend and a man of God, and I will miss working with him every day."