Tom Coughlin: 'You know who the world champions are'
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin checks his stop watch as he watched defensive lineman run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. (Feb. 27, 2012) Credit: AP
Tom Coughlin addressed a number of subjects at a coaches' breakfast during the NFL owners meetings, and even took a mild shot at the Jets and all the attention-grabbing headlines they've been getting in the weeks after their Super Bowl win over the Patriots last month.
Here are some highlights:
On whether he ever thinks to himself, 'Who won the Super Bowl?' after all the attention the Jets have been getting in the wake of the Tim Tebow trade: "I don’t, but you know who won the Super Bowl. You know who the world champions are, whether we’re on the front page every day or not. It’s not that important to me. New Yorkers know."
Zzzzzing!!
On a contract extension: "There’s talk and quite frankly it will get done. Whenever John and our people get together and can get a sit-down and give themselves a little bit of time, I’m sure it will get done."
On possibly being interested in Plaxico Burress, who has said the Giants are high on his list of potential teams for 2012: "Never say never, but it has not been discussed."
On Brandon Jacobs possibly returning after being released in a salary cap move this month: "I think it’s a possibility. Brandon wanted the opportunity to go out into the market place and see what he could do with the opportunity and it was granted and we’ll just see."
On opening against the Cowboys: "The league always does a great job of making it a very attractive game and they’ve done it again with a tremendous rivalry between the Cowboys and the Giants."
Thoughts on their Super Bowl season in 2011: "It was fun and I really enjoyed the entire season. I enjoyed the team, the way the team responded. Certainly there were ups and downs and there always are. You never escape that part of it. The fact that I really believe so much enjoyment was provided for so many people. I think a lot of people, New Yorkers and New Jerseyans who looked at our team, fans everywhere who were inspired by the season we had, the run that we were on at the end, the way it all happened, everyone telling us it couldn’t happen or wouldn’t happen and it did happen."
How much longer he wants to coach: "If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it with every ounce of energy I have. The good Lord has given me good health. I do condition and stay in pretty good shape and feel best when I’m in that type of a cycle. I’m just going to as always no matter how many years you sign a contract, it’s a one-year deal. I’m going to go forth with the idea of enjoying each season as it comes and rallying the troops. I want to be a motivator for our staff, our players, our organization and do the very best I can to win another world championship."
On the Saints' bounty controversy: "When you have so much emphasis on player safety from Day 1 with commissioner Goodell, a man that truly works with the players and understands the game, this flies right in the face of everything we believe in in the league. This is a league about great players and the fans want to see great players. This is a physically and mentally tough game. Fans love the gladiator aspect of it. But to think that players would be marked to be injured with a system of financial reward for it, it has no business in the game. It really doesn’t."
On Bill Parcells possibly returning: "I don’t really know how that’s going to play out. Knowing Bill and how calculating and how he thinks everything through, that’s one thing I’m sure he would talk about."
On what he learned from Parcells: "Certainly the formula for winning, without a doubt. The way in which we played in those days, the type of style, the type of game we played. It was commonly referred to as Giants’ football, which we’ve always tried to play. Everyone talks about being a physically tough football team. Great defense. Don’t turn the ball over. Rush the football. Have good balance. Those are the things we’ve always believed in. From my time as an assistant with the Giants, the idea of how you enforce that and how that proves over and over how you win in this game. That was driven home very easily for me. We played a certain way. We practiced a certain way. Players understood it. We had an element of toughness. We won, which was a nice thing. We had some frustration. In ’88, got beat in last game of the year to get in the playoffs. ’89, we were in, got knocked out. And ’90 had fantastic run, winning in San Francisco and going to Tampa to play in one week during Desert Storm. That whole experience from the top down. Mr. Mara. George Young. Bill. The continuity factor. The way you play, the way you win. I’ve tried to learn from anyone I’ve been fortunate enough to be with. Even if you decide what you like or what you don’t like. I’ve done that with every opportunity that I’ve ever had. As a kid growing up in central New York, this was a dream come true and it was a wonderful experience."
On the Tim Tebow trade: "It’s none of my business what they’ve done. That’s their business. I can tell you this, that Tim Tebow was 7-4. People talked about how he does things. But he has won. Observing him as a college player and as a rookie in the NFL, he’s physically tough, has ability as a runner and he’s continued to work on his throwing game. You’ve got a guy who’s going to be a force in the locker room, a very positive guy. That’s someone else’s decision, but when you look at the player, you can certainly think in terms of the way you use him."
On going through difficult times en route to a Super Bowl win: "It’s worth it. I’ll take the lumps to get what’s at the end of the rainbow any time.”
