Spagnuolo: Patriots stole signals in Super Bowl XXXIX

Steve Spagnuolo may not be involved in Super Bowl LII, but he levied a shot against one of the teams that will play in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Spagnuolo told 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia that he believes the New England Patriots cheated during Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles. Spagnuolo, who was the linebackers coach for the Eagles at the time in 2005, claimed the Patriots knew their signals.

"I remember through the course of the game (Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson) saying, 'They're getting our signals. They know when we're blitzing ... Try to hide it, etc. etc,'" Spagnuolo said, via Newsday.

"I remember distinctly thinking, 'Jim I don't think that's true.' Now I'm not saying this to him, because I don't want to upset him. I'm saying it to myself. 'I don't think so, Jim. Just concentrate on calling the game.'"

Spagnolo changed his tune as time passed and now agrees with the late Johnson.

"In hindsight, he was right," he said. "When you go back and look at that tape, it was evident to us. ... I'm not crying over spilled milk here, but we believed that Tom (Brady) knew when we were pressuring, because he certainly got the ball out pretty quick. But, you know, you got to play the game, and they won that particular day."

Spagnuolo got his revenge a few years later as the then-defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, who upset the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

"It wasn't going to happen in the 2008 Super Bowl," said Spagnuolo, who told the radio station that he employed two defensive signal-callers in that game. The Giants won, 17-14.

The Patriots are no strangers to being accused of cheating, as an assistant was caught illegally filming the New York Jets during a game from an unauthorized location in what is referred to as "SpyGate."

The NFL also investigated allegations that the Patriots had deflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts following the 2014 season. Brady served a four-game suspension for failing to cooperate with the league's investigation.