We all know that Tom Coughlin is a man who sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him.
Thanks to the cameras that NFL broadcasters keep trained on him for 60 minutes every Sunday, the world has seen Coughlin overreacting like a madman to everything that happens on the field of play. Arms wave, cheeks get red and the occasional punter gets reamed out by a man who rarely seems to be anything short of apoplectic.
When he's standing in front of the media, however, Coughlin is a very different character. Outside of a rare flash of wit, Coughlin's public dealings are blander than plain yougurt on white bread with a side of tofu. Criticism and praise both seem to roll right off his back, which always seems shocking given how hard he takes everything that happens to him during a game.
That's why it was nice to see a video from inside the Giants locker room on this week's edition of "Inside the NFL." Coughlin, addressing his troops after Sunday's empty victory against the Redskins, congratulated his men and then turned his attention to those who were upset that the Giants weren't in the playoffs.
"We did our part. From the bottom of my heart and everybody's, we have a 10-and-6 season, a 10-win season in the NFL, OK." Coughlin said. "They can kiss my ass, OK. They can line up and kiss my a--. It's not an easy thing to do."
For the record, we're pretty sure Coughlin meant it was not easy to win 10 games as opposed to it not being easy to kiss his rear end. That would seem to be fairly easy for anyone who doesn't have severe knee problems.
While it was nice to hear what Coughlin really thinks, we must quibble a bit with his assertion that his team did its part. It's simply not true. They won on Sunday, but that's an awfully small view to take of their part when the only reason Sunday's game mattered was because the fell on their face over the previous 68 minutes of football. The Giants didn't do their part this season, which is exactly why they aren't playing a game this weekend.
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It's difficult to draw too many lines from a post-game speech to a general organizational philosophy, but the general picture the Giants have drawn this week is one that's a little too content with the way their season played out.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
