Coughlin's earned a lifetime pass now

INDIANAPOLIS

On the eve of Super Bowl XLVI, Tom Coughlin told New York Giants players that he loved them.

The haters should finally reciprocate.

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No more angry calls, letters and emails to Giants co-owner John Mara demanding Coughlin’s firing like during the 2011 regular season.

No more media outcries questioning Coughlin’s job status for the umpteenth time like when New York was stumbling in November and December.

And the lingering perception that Coughlin is the head coach that NFL players least want to work under because of his stern disciplinarian ways? This also should be wiped away like the tears in the eyes of some G-Men after hearing Coughlin express how much they meant to him prior to Sunday night’s 21-17 victory over New England at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“There’s a lot of men who feel that way but they’re never able to say it to each other,” Giants running back Brandon Jacobs recalled Monday morning before the team’s return flight home. “It was a real big deal for him to get up and do that.”

It wasn’t an accident, either. A grinning Coughlin admitted his expression of affection wasn’t spontaneous when trying to get players ready for the biggest game of their lives.

“I always plan,” Coughlin said to a small group of reporters shortly after his Monday morning news conference. “I don’t do much spur of the moment.”

That’s one of the things that make Coughlin such a great coach. He strives to have players on the same page when it comes to communication, focus and responsibilities. Coughlin specifically said the 2011 Giants accomplished all those things, making this season among the most enjoyable of his 40 years in coaching.

“When that happened, there wasn’t any fatigue,” said the 65-year-old Coughlin, who is the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl. “It was all invigorating and a tremendous sense of the desire to keep going. Many times I used the phrase during the course of the playoffs that whatever we can do to advance, advance, advance, advance … Let’s keep this team playing.”

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The Giants did that despite having a 7-7 record in mid-December. After a surprisingly lopsided home loss to lowly Washington that bumped New York from atop the NFC East, Coughlin didn’t rip into the squad like he may have in his less sensitive days.

Coughlin stressed not to bother thinking about the Redskins and instead focus on the fact that victories over two rivals – the New York Jets and Dallas – would put the Giants into the postseason. He trusted team leaders like Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and David Diehl – veterans who helped lead New York’s similar late-season charge en route to defeating New England in Super Bowl XLII -- to set the example for younger players.

“He’s always straight-up with us,” Giants tight end Bear Pascoe said of Coughlin. “He tells us what he’s thinking. We know where he stands.”

Coughlin had always shown mental toughness amid the pressure of coaching in the world’s largest -- and perhaps most cynical -- media market. But his physical grit inspired players after Coughlin tore his hamstring when run into during the Jets game. Coughlin never kvetched or let the injury stop him from fulfilling his coaching duties even as players saw how much he was hurting.

“He was very good about it,” Pascoe said. “He got in the training room, did his treatment and his rehab. He set a great example.”

No team in the NFL reflects its head coach’s personality more than the Giants. New York stayed tough even when the franchise was besieged by preseason problems that included injuries (the secondary was particularly decimated), ex-Giants signing elsewhere (Plaxico Burress, Kevin Boss and Steve Smith top the list) and the Osi Umenyiora drama involving the defensive end’s contract.

The cross-town Jets and boisterous head coach Rex Ryan spent August talking about the Super Bowl. As it turns out, Coughlin was actually laying the groundwork to get there for the second time in four seasons.

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It’s why all the media scrutiny given to Coughlin’s job security will now deservedly turn toward Ryan as he enters his fourth season with a Jets team that hasn’t won a Lombardi Trophy since Super Bowl III. The Giants now have four of them.

Coughlin joked that the media criticism will quickly return – “He’s too old! He can’t relate to the players!” -- should the Giants start slowly next season. In reality, Coughlin isn’t going anywhere until he finally decides to walk away on his own terms. A long-term contract extension – Coughlin is signed through next season – will be in the offing well before a retirement speech.

Asked if he wanted to continue coaching for another 10 years, Coughlin quipped, “I’m only 45 (so) maybe that could happen.”

If he did stick around for another decade, a resume that will someday draw Hall of Fame consideration should become even more impressive. The Giants have the makings of a championship contender for next season, especially with a two-time Super Bowl MVP like Manning under center.

“He deserves a tremendous amount of respect for the teams he’s had,” Pascoe said. “He’s a great coach.”

A different one, too, from the time when Coughlin’s heavy-handed methods painted him as out-of-touch with a far younger generation of players. Maybe it’s mellowing with age or becoming a grandfather, but Coughlin has found a way to better relate to without compromising his expectations or standards.

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The Super Bowl-eve speech reflected that. A Bill Parcells disciple, Coughlin admitted sharing his affection for players in such a direct manner wasn’t “the way you envision a coach” when he debuted as a Syracuse University graduate assistant in 1969.

“What’s the word everybody uses? Tough love? It’s that. That’s your relationship normally,” Coughlin said. “Very rarely do you explain it any other way because you’re the guardian. You’re the guy that’s trying to shape all these things. It’s not touchy-feely.”

Coughlin said he has told other teams he loved them but couldn’t remember which ones. He won’t have the same problem with these Giants.

“It’s just that feeling one man can have for another when he takes great pride in who they are and what they’ve become,” he said.

Coughlin should feel the same way about himself.