Players get say with Giants, Seahawks

RENTON, Wash. (AP) -There may be a secret to coaching success in today's NFL, though it's one Vince Lombardi would never stand for: empower your players.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin was 25-23 in New York with no playoff wins when he arrived for the 2007 training camp in Albany, N.Y., to begin a must-win season. The man renowned for inflexible discipline was concerned over players misunderstanding why he made certain decisions. So he established a leadership council of about a dozen players to deal with internal issues.

Mike Holmgren has had his own players' committee of about half that size in each of his 10 years with the Seahawks. He also had one from 1992-98 while leading Green Bay.

Holmgren won a Super Bowl and went to another with the Packers before moving to Seattle. His Seahawks (1-2) have won four consecutive division titles entering Sunday's game at New York.

Coughlin's Giants are undefeated and the defending Super Bowl champions.

Coincidences?

Players on both teams say the committees enlighten them, unite them, strengthen their teams' trust.

"It just gives us a chance for you to relate stuff better to your teammates than maybe a coach can," said All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones, a Seahawks committee member. "Not saying you don't want to hear it from the coach, you are just more comfortable hearing it from a player.

"You build a bond in the locker room. It's all about respect."

Added quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, also a committee member: "It makes the players feel they have input."

Coaches having veterans as their deputies isn't new in the NFL - or even with the Giants. Bill Parcells used to rely on Harry Carson and George Martin to deliver his intentions and report back on the pulse of New York's locker room.

But Holmgren and Coughlin have formalized the practice, setting committees and having philosophies on who it should include.

Coughlin's represents older and younger players. Holmgren's is limited to the captains of the offense, defense and special teams, so it usually includes only established veterans.