Giants coach Tom Coughlin is no turkey
By RICK MORRISSEY rmorrissey@suntimes.com February 2, 2012 7:26PM
New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin answers questions during a media availability, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Giants will face the New England Patriots in the NFL football Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Updated: March 4, 2012 8:18AM
INDIANAPOLIS — Tom Coughlin seems to be about as much fun as an earache. Nobody scowls, winces and pouts more than this guy, which is weird because we’re supposedly in the Happy Tom era.
“When I came into the league in 2005, he was running up and down the sidelines saying things to officials that I never thought I’d hear someone say,’’ running back Brandon Jacobs said. “He’s cooled down a lot. He stays in one place.’’
Nevertheless, the Giants’ presence in the Super Bowl ensures that NFL teams will continue seeking out single-minded, law-and-order disciplinarians. Coughlin is going for his second Super Bowl victory in four years.
The Patriots’ Bill Belichick lacks Coughlin’s sour-milk demeanor, preferring to wear a look of pokerfaced genius. But neurotic over-planning? He’s right there with his Giants counterpart. During practice Wednesday, the Patriots reportedly took a 30-minute break to simulate the Super Bowl’s longer halftime.
The question with Coughlin is simple: Who would want to play for someone who will fine you for not being five minutes early for a meeting? What kind of person thinks up rules like that?
A winner, is the short answer. The longer, more complicated answer is that the 65-year-old Coughlin has indeed become
gentler, according to the people who used to wonder if a smile would make his face crack apart.
“He’s still very disciplined,’’ quarterback Eli Manning said. “He wants his players disciplined.
Everything is still five minutes early. What he wants is for his guys to be on time but also take great pride in their work, be totally committed to the preparation side of football. When you’re out there on that practice field, give it 100 percent. Be totally focused on what you have to do to get prepared for Sunday.
“When he sees the team that does that, when he sees the team that has players that expect that from each other, he can relax a little bit. What he has shown more is his passion for football, and the players respect that and play hard for him.’’
There are unconfirmed rumors of a sense of humor.
“Coach Coughlin likes to laugh,’’ Manning said. “He likes to smile. You’ve just got to find him in the right moments. There’s a time to prepare. There’s a time to be focused and be disciplined and have that look of determination. And then there’s downtime where you can smile, you can have a normal conversation not about football.’’
Coughlin had a reputation in Jacksonville of being relentlessly critical of his players. That didn’t work in New York with veterans like Michael Strahan, Antonio Pierce, Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress. When it became clear he had to give, the sheriff started deputizing people and delegating some of the responsibility.
“There’s no question you change,’’ Coughlin said. “… You better have an ability to self-analyze, make it honest, try to adjust and try to do the things that you think are necessary to make your presentation and your team respond better to you on a yearly basis. Probably the number one thing that I’ve done is I’ve kind of gotten better at being patient and picking my spots better rather than be automatically spontaneous.”
But let the buyer beware on the whole mellow-fellow angle: “Don’t get it twisted — he still has got the reins pretty tight on this football team,’’ defensive end Justin Tuck said.
Coughlin is dealing with adults, and as much as he wants to mold every player into his idea of perfection, he can’t. There was no way he was going to be able to corral someone like Jacobs, who likens Coughlin and the Giants to a father and his children.
“I’m the kid that gives him trouble,’’ he said “That’s all. It’s me. Everybody else is a good kid. They go to bed when they need to go to bed. They eat at the right time. They don’t drink stuff after a certain hour. But me, I go to bed when he says to go to bed, and when he closes the door, I’m up playing a game. Or he goes to bed, and I’m in the kitchen getting milk and playing with things. I’m that kid.’’
The two men have had an up-and-down relationship. It’s up now. Everything is rosy, especially Coughlin. He’s become so soft and cuddly that if the Giants win Sunday, his first TV appearance should be on “The View.’’
OK, let’s not get carried away.
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