Burress, Coughlin meeting Friday night

There appears to be two more people who need to sign off on Plaxico Burress' return to the Giants, and they will meet Friday night.

Burress and Tom Coughlin, whose rocky relationship during their time together with the team has undoubtedly left each skeptical that the other is capable of truly changing, will get together for their first face-to-face since Burress was released from the team in the spring of 2009. That was several months after he accidentally shot himself in the leg in a Manhattan night club in November 2008 and spent 20 months in prison.

If Burress can convince Coughlin that he has matured and Coughlin can convince Burress that he has mellowed, the receiver could be back with the Giants for training camp by the end of next week. It's still a long shot and Coughlin's blessing is far from a given, but Giants defensive end Justin Tuck insists that a reunion is "not that much of a reach."

"We're working on it," Tuck said of trying to bring Burress back to the team for which he caught the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.

What seemed impossible two years ago and unlikely months ago now appears to have just those two hurdles to clear -- green lights from Coughlin and Burress -- before becoming a reality. ESPN reported that the Giants had a billionaire friend of co-owner Steve Tisch's act as a liaison and fly Burress to the New York area on Tuesday on a private jet for a potential meeting Wednesday. The NFL quickly clarified rules that prohibit in-person meetings between teams and free agents until Friday, so Burress returned to Florida and will come back to New York Friday. The report also noted the Giants are prepared to offer Burress a two-year deal worth $10.5 million, but only with Coughlin's stamp of approval.

The Giants aren't the only team interested in Burress, but they will get first crack at him. Burress reportedly will meet with the Steelers, the team that drafted him in the first round, after his get-together with Coughlin. The Jets and Rams also have expressed interest.

What would Burress mean to the Giants? Eli Manning said Wednesday that he doesn't have an opinion on whether the team should bring him back, but he has spoken to the receiver in recent days and has said in the past that Burress would be welcomed. Manning said the circus atmosphere of Burress' return at training camp would not be a distraction for the team.

But it was only last month that Burress, just days removed from prison, gave a lengthy interview in which he slammed Coughlin's coaching style. "I kind of felt it was like: I'm the coach, you are the player. It doesn't matter what you have to say. You just do what I tell you to do," Burress said.

As for mending fences between the player and the coach, Tuck said he thinks they can find a way to coexist.

"I think it's going to be a give and take between both of them," he said. "Anytime you have a dispute between two people, then those two people need to sit down and talk it out like men and I think that's what they have on schedule so we'll see what happens. I can't speak for Coughlin or Plax, but it's well documented that they have bumped heads in the past and hopefully a little time apart can rekindle the love that they share for each other.

"Hopefully," he said, "it will be another match made in heaven."