From tyrant to terrific, Coughlin perception takes new direction

Remember this quote?

"[Tom Coughlin] robbed me of what had been one of the most important things I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football. I had lost that. He had taken it away." -- Tiki Barber

Don't be shocked if Tom Coughlin kisses his second Vince Lombardi Trophy this season. (Getty Images)

And this?

"[After] my first meeting [with Coughlin] I went home and said ... 'I'm not going to play for him next year. I hate him.'" -- Michael Strahan, 2007

Or this one?

"I would rather die in an abandoned building alone, and my family not know what happened, than play for [Coughlin]." -- CBS analyst Shannon Sharpe

Remember?

"Coughlin must go. He has lost the locker room. Too many players have tuned him out. He has taken this team as far as he can." -- New York Daily News, 2007

This is a good one.

"... until [Charlie] Weis tells the Giants himself that he's not interested, they have to ask if he wants to come and save [Eli] Manning's career." -- New York Daily News, 2007

Weis ... bwaaaaaaaa!

Now, Weis can barely save his own ass, let alone Manning's, which no longer needs saving.

Terry Bradshaw once called Coughlin "mean" and "hateful" and "stupid." And when Bradshaw calls someone stupid, well, that's saying something.

This is my favorite.

"If Tom Coughlin plays his starters for most of the game against the undefeated New England Patriots, he should be fired." -- Mike Freeman, 2007

That was written by an idiot just days before Coughlin's Giants played one of the more inspired games in the organization's recent history, almost winning it, and then using the game as a catalyst for an unforeseen postseason run to a Super Bowl title. Coughlin was right to play his starters.

This Freeman guy is dumber than Terry Bradshaw.

Just a few short years ago, Coughlin was the most hated coach in football. No one liked him. Now, after all these years of public complaints, there is utter silence. Not a peep. No players crying about him being a bully, or that he's stupid, or that he should tone down his approach. Just, silence.

We were all wrong about Coughlin, both the players who despised him and the media who thought he should be fired. He has outlasted his critics and the Giants have as good a shot as any team in the NFC of reaching a Super Bowl.

If Coughlin does get there, and somehow win, he'd have two rings in three years. It'd be the most startling career and public relations turnaround this side of Mike Vick.

Coughlin is quickly progressing from a Hall of Fame jerk to a Hall of Fame coach.

Another Super Bowl appearance could happen this year because although the Giants are injured right now, in some ways they're still better than the Giants who knocked off the undefeated Patriots two years ago. They're better because Manning is better and the Giants remain one of the top three drafting franchises in the NFL. Plus, Plaxico "Gunsmoke" Burress is gone, which is addition by subtraction.

The Giants are better than New Orleans because they're a better-rounded team, will continue to crush Tony Romeo and Dallas, and would intercept Brett Favre 14 times.

Coughlin has this group primed. The complainers are gone and he has molded the Giants into the team he's wanted.

This isn't to say Coughlin still doesn't behave like a grumpy old man telling people to stay off his lawn. Players say he's still a screamer and uptight about his rules, but overall he's more relaxed.

A significant number of players truly like playing for him, too. Like playing for him? When's the last time you heard that about Coughlin?

What a turnaround.

"People were saying we should have fired Tom," John Mara, co-owner of the Giants, told reporters after the Super Bowl XLII win over New England. "People were saying that we shouldn't have made the deal for Eli, that we overpaid for him, that he was never going to be anything but an average quarterback. All this stuff. There is a great correlation between the two of them and they've proven both wrong."