Jetta died on highway

My 97 Jetta (140000 miles) called it quits a couple hours ago on the highway. It had been running rough with a loud noise under the emergency brake (cat converter I think). It seemed still OK to drive so I tried to get it home but after about 40 miles I just lost power and rolled to a stop. Now it cranks but doesn't start.

From what I've read... I'm thinking the coil was going (I checked the resistances a little while ago and they were out of the proper range) and was pumping unburnt fuel through the cat, eventually wrecking (or finishing off) the cat converter. Sound reasonable??

Checked the spark this morning... no spark. I will replace the coil and see, but I think I'll need a new cat as well.

TIA for any info.