Grateful Coughlin reacts to bin Laden news
It's never difficult to pry patriotism out of Tom Coughlin, who often wears an American flag lapel pin. He speaks of it readily, has visited wounded troops, toured the Persian Gulf region on a USO trip in July 2009 and has a close relationship with Gen. Raymond Odierno, the commander of the United States Joint Forces Command.
So when Coughlin appeared on Sirius NFL Radio's Opening Drive Monday morning and the conversation turned to the death of Osama bin Laden, it was no surprise that the Giants' coach became emotional.
"It's not an easy thing to put into words because of all the emotions that run when you think of the flag, when you think of 9/11, when you think of Ground Zero, when you think of all the people who've been affected by this," Coughlin said.
"But one of the things that does put the goose bumps on top of my goose bumps is the reaction of all Americans to this news and what's going on on the college campuses, what has taken place spontaneously in downtown New York City and Washington, D.C., to the Mets-Phillies game [Sunday] night, those type of things. It just about takes your breath away."
Coughlin was in Jacksonville on Sept. 11, 2001, coaching the Jaguars. But his son Tim was in Tower 2 at the time of the attacks as a bond trader for Morgan Stanley. Tim Coughlin made it out of the building to safety.
Tom Coughlin said he is grateful to the members of the military who helped kill bin Laden both directly and indirectly.
"You think of the patriotism, you think of the sacrifices that have been made by our servicemen and women who have put their lives on the line every day and who need our tremendous support and will always get it from me and I'm sure from many, many Americans," he said. "But to think that this has been accomplished and that this individual has paid the ultimate price, and hopefully we will continue to be able to dismantle al-Qaida and any terrorist organization . . . Just the reaction of the American people has just been an incredible thing for us to witness.
"We're so thankful that the Navy SEALs were successful in this venture."
