National Football League

Giants will do offseason soul-searching

Published Jan. 2, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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The Giants are out of the playoffs, but not because of anything they did Sunday at Washington.

They beat the Washington Redskins, 17-14. But after New York's spectacular collapse against Philadelphia two weeks ago and a lopsided defeat at Green Bay last week, the team was no longer in control of its own destiny.

So when the Packers defeated the Bears on Sunday at roughly the same the Giants were finishing off the Redskins, New York's fate was sealed.

For those who are ready to begin calculations for next season, one of the ingredients in the formula has already been assured — head coach Tom Coughlin will return for an eighth season, but it is likely that some of his assistant coaches will be released.

The temptation to go for a new coach, perhaps one with a readily recognizable name, has come and gone. You may line up the candidates — John Fox, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden and a few others — and rest assured that a few of those names will be in the NFL next season.

But they will not be with the Giants.

It is going to be an offseason rife with personnel changes, though. A few of the names may as well be published — linebackers Keith Bulluck and Jonathan Goff and center Shaun O'Hara — but there are difficult decisions to be made concerning several others.

How will the coaching staff — with an assist from general manager Jerry Reese — evaluate quarterback Eli Manning? After seven years with the team, the past six as the starter, he has reached a certain level of competence but struggles to advance beyond that. Is Manning one of the NFL's top five? No, he isn't. He could be slotted between the 10th and 12th spots, and while that will leave him substantially below Tom Brady, Drew Brees and his older brother, Peyton Manning, it is enough to prevent the Giants from trying to unload him.

Besides, his $125 million contract, which still has four years to run, is daunting enough to prevent another team from seeking to acquire him in trade. So the Giants are stuck, if you will, with Eli. But they might not be stuck with several others who have become "regulars," people such as running back Brandon Jacobs and offensive tackle David Diehl and certainly backup quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Jim Sorgi, who is on injured reserve.

The Giants considered dismissing Coughlin, and if the team had stumbled again the way it did the two previous weeks, a dismissal probably would have happened. But the Giants kept their focus, Coughlin convinced them that the only game to worry about was the one against the Redskins and it worked. The Giants won.

If the Chicago Bears — who had nothing much to gain — had beaten the Packers, the Giants would have been a wild-card team instead of Green Bay.

But that didn't work out; the Giants became one of those 10-win teams without a playoff date, and that appears to have salved the sensitive ego of team president John K. Mara.

"Tom knows his future," said Reese, "and we always wanted it to be that way. We didn't want to have to go through all the machinations required to start that process from the beginning once the season ended."

That seems to imply Coughlin was told, in clearly defined terms, that a victory would save his job.

"We will bring Tom back," Mara said. "I think he showed enough improvement this season to warrant another chance."

The Giants started out 5-0 last season but finished 8-8. Coughlin has improved the squad to 10-6 this season.

Are there holes and flaws? Needs and projects? Of course, there are, but at the core of this team is a strong, young roster that should continue to improve. More offensive linemen and linebackers are necessary; far better special-teams units are crucial. The return of several injured players — such as wide receivers Steve Smith, Ramses Barden and Domenik Hixon; center Adam Koets; and defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka — will be expected.

But there is an aura missing from this team, the disturbing inability to finish a game. The Dec. 19 disaster at home against the Eagles will serve as a rallying cry for the entire offseason. It was a game the Giants led 31-20 with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, when a victory would have put them in first place with tie-breaker credentials in the NFC East — and they proceeded to lose it, 38-31.

"That was the killer," Coughlin agreed.

But when asked to expand on the two previous weeks — the nightmare loss against Philadelphia and the subsequent 45-17 drubbing by Green Bay — all Coughlin would say was: "We won today, and having a 10-win season is an accomplishment in this league."

Indeed, coach. The question is whether the previous two games will serve as a millstone or a rallying point in the Giants' offseason.

Dave Klein is the owner/operator of E-GIANTS, an online newsletter devoted to the New York Giants year-round. For information, contact him at davesklein@aol.com.