clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2012 Super Bowl: Giants Vs. Patriots: Tom Coughlin Says 'It's Not About Me'

Tom Coughlin the head coach of the New York Giants talks to the media during the Giants Super Bowl XLVI Media Availability on January 30, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Tom Coughlin the head coach of the New York Giants talks to the media during the Giants Super Bowl XLVI Media Availability on January 30, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Getty Images

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin met with the media Monday after the Giants arrived in Indianapolis for the 2012 Super Bowl. As he did all of last week Coughlin deflected any talk about what a second Super Bowl title could do for his legacy.

"It's not about me. That's the furthest thing from my mind is how this enhances my legacy or whatever term you used. That's nowhere near anything that I am thinking about right now," Coughlin said. "What I'm concerned with is the concentration of our players, putting ourselves in the best frame of mind that we can possibly be, preparing our team to the best of our ability, and then playing exceptionally well, as best as we possibly can."

Coughlin did, however, comment on what another title would mean for the legacy of Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

"I think for Eli it would be a great endorsement for the quality of football player he is, what kind of football season he has had, and what he means to our football team and our franchise," Coughlin said.

Here are a few other highlights from Coughlin's meeting with reporters.

On what he learned as an assistant coach under Bill Parcells:

"From Parcells, the thing that I admire mostly from Bill Parcells to George Young, Mr. Mara when I had the opportunity to tell him, was the belief in continuity, the stability. There were very few peaks and valleys. There was a feeling of pressure; the finger was always on the coaching staff and how they prepared their team and how the players responded to that. Ultimately, anyone who was around Parcells for any length of time learned how to win. That's the biggest thing I took away from it."

On why the team arrived a day later than the Patriots:

"First of all, this is the path that we followed four years ago. I thought it was a very good one."

On having a solid nucleus of players (19) with Super Bowl experience:

"I think it's important. what we have is a nucleus of guys who can relate to the younger players, who can talk to them now and have been talking to them for the last week about how to conduct themselves in this environment, how to know exactly what's coming, how to stay away from distractions, how to deal with all the issues that come up from family and tickets and those type of things. To try to get all of that taken care of before we even come out here so the player has no distractions."

"Mostly it's about attitude and mostly it's about if you're in a position where you feel that the young player is responsive and he will listen to some of the players that have gone through this before, like Eli stood up in a team meeting the other day and said an awful lot of very valuable things which were responded to not only by the young guys, but by the veterans as well. That information sharing, especially from someone who has been there and succeeded can be extremely valuable."