PDA

View Full Version : New York Giants Name Tom Coughlin Coach



thedrifter
01-09-04, 05:29 AM
New York Giants Name Tom Coughlin Coach
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer


EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)--Tom Coughlin didn't say no to the New York Giants this time around, signing to coach them on Tuesday.

The former Jacksonville Jaguars coach signed a four-year contract, vowing to bring back a brand of smashmouth, mistake-free football that led New York to two Super Bowls under his mentor, Bill Parcells.

``It is a tremendous challenge, and I am looking forward to working with these players and re-establishing the New York Giants' tradition of physically controlling the line of scrimmage,'' Coughlin said. ``We want to win the battle at the line of scrimmage, eliminate the disease of turnovers and control field position of special teams.''

Coughlin and the Giants finalized the deal worth around $12 million on Tuesday, a day after Coughlin held his second round of meetings with the team.

Coughlin, 57, succeeds Jim Fassel, who was fired following a 4-12 season in which the Giants lost their final eight games.

``Tom Coughlin is the man we wanted 11 years ago and he is the man we wanted now,'' general manager Ernie Accorsi said. ``Aside from his family, Tom has one interest: winning.''

John Mara, the Giants' executive vice president, called Coughlin ``the right person for this job.''

``Our objective at that point was to make sure we hired the right man for this job, and that is what Tom is,'' Mara said. ``He has experience as a successful head coach at the college and NFL levels, and he is going to bring an intensity and focus and a commitment to winning that we need and want. We stayed true to a process that we felt would produce the kind of head coach we need, and it did.''

A former Giants assistant under Parcells, Coughlin was 72-64 in eight seasons with the Jaguars, twice leading them to the AFC title game. He was fired after 2002, his third straight losing season.

``I am really looking forward to getting back into the competitive part of it,'' Coughlin said.

Center Chris Bober thought Coughlin would be a good fit after a mistake and injury- marred season that began with Super Bowl expectations.

``I heard he likes to run a ball-control, smashmouth style of football, and as a lineman, that's exciting,'' said Bober, eligible to become a free agent in March. ``I hope I can be a part of it.''

Added guard Rich Seubert: ``I like it. What's not to like? I'm just glad the coaching search is over and now we can start getting back to playing winning football.''

Coughlin was the only candidate granted a second interview for the opening created when Fassel was fired on Dec. 17. Fassel was allowed to coach the final two games.

New England Patriots coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis, and St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith also were interviewed.

Of the last 11 Giants coaches, eight have been former assistants with the team.

The Giants offered Coughlin their head coaching job in 1993 after firing Ray Handley. Coughlin turned it down, saying he wanted to complete a rebuilding program he started at Boston College.

Coughlin was first interviewed by the Giants last month, shortly after Fassel was fired.

A disciplinarian on the field, Coughlin said he's changed a little in his year away from football and is willing to accept not having total control off the field.

``I don't need to draw the line,'' Coughlin told The Associated Press last month. ``I certainly can work in an organization that has a division of labor.''

Longtime Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell recently said his experience with Coughlin wasn't all that bad. The two frequently were at odds.

``He was a tough coach, a demanding coach, but he knew what he wanted,'' Brunell said. ``And his bottom line was always figuring out a way to win.''

Coughlin has stayed in touch with the NFL. He watched games on a satellite dish at his home in Jacksonville on Sundays and broke down tape and stats the next two days.

``I'm a football coach. I had an opportunity, and I'd like another one,'' he said.

___


AP Sports Writer Eddie Pells in Jacksonville, Fla., contributed to this report.


AP-NY-01-07-04 0844EST

Copyright 2004, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.




http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/sports/content/shared/sports/ap/ap_story.html/Football/AP.V7011.AP-FBN-Giants-Coug.html;COXnetJSessionID=19baJKHfXIoH1jgsN0Bk8yD cEopYdK8s6KZz2QJzTzCPverazSlb!-1113731819?urac=n&urvf=10735687308350.8704325430909438

Sempers,

Roger
:marine: