At the end of last season, when the Giants finished 10-6 and considered the season a disappointment because they did not make the playoffs, team ownership gave a vote of confidence to coach Tom Coughlin.
Wednesday, they made it official, announcing a contract extension for Coughlin, who had been heading into what would have been the final year on his deal. The Giants never let a head coach go into the final year of his contract not wanting to send a message to players and fans that the coach has little job security. Coughlin received a one-year extension, which would put him under contract through the 2012 season. Coughlin turns 65 on August 31.
The Giants went out about this in a bizarre manner, making the announcement via the team’s official twitter account in random sentences offering random quotes from Coughlin and co-owner John Mara.
“As we said after the season, we strongly believe in Tom,” Mara said. “We believe in the job he has done, and we believe in his ability to lead our team in the future. Everybody was on the same page in arriving at the extension.”
After this past season, Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch ended any speculation by saying Coughlin – who engineered the stunning victory in Super Bowl XLII – would return and that an extension would be worked on in the offseason. Then came something called the NFL lockout and Mara’s time was otherwise occupied. With the lockout ended, football back in business and training camp set to open on Friday, the time was right to make official what everyone already knew, that Coughlin would not go into the season on the final year of his deal.
“Our players respond to and play hard for Tom,” Tisch said. “We look forward to being able to continue to benefit from Tom’s energy and drive and work ethic, all of which are second to none.’’
General manager Jerry Reese said, “Nobody works harder than Tom at trying to make the team as good as it can be, and nobody pushes himself and his staff harder than Tom to try to figure out the best way to win.”
Coughlin in a statement said, “As I was when I was hired in 2004, I am grateful for the opportunity. To be the head coach of the New York Giants is the fulfillment of a dream for somebody who grew up where I grew up and when I grew up. As I have said roughly a thousand times, we’re all on one-year contracts in this business, but the reality is that I am thankful to work for people like the Maras and the Tisches and with people like (General Manager) Jerry Reese and his staff, as well as my coaching staff and our players.”
