Class act Coughlin continues charity work in New York

Martin spoke on behalf of that group, then yielded the floor to Coughlin, who was forceful and articulate -- qualities we've witnessed before. But he diverged from his public image when he poked fun at himself as "a rules guy," kidded one of the speakers and fielded a question from a guest about former Giants quarterback Kurt Warner.

"Why did you bench him when you were 5-4?" shouted the Giants' fan.

"Because we lost three of four," Coughlin said, "and we had a chance to play a young guy who is the future of the New York Giants."

Then he smiled.

When he was finished he was applauded, and he should be. What he is doing off the field both here and in Jacksonville is significant and worth far more than a defeat of Dallas or Washington. There he is changing scoreboards; here he is changing lives. There he is criticized; here he is barely recognized. It makes you wonder.

"My Dad is a fun, compassionate person," said Keli, executive director of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation. "If we're sitting around the house, he's the butt of all the jokes. He doesn't run the show at home like he does at the stadium.

"But I know what he's like. He's serious, and his morals and beliefs are strong. He's a black-and-white guy. There's no grey. I believe some (of what you read in the sports pages), but some of the ways it's interpreted have a negative spin when it's really not. He's a disciplinarian, but he doesn't ask anyone to do what he doesn't ask himself to do. You know what you're getting with him. You know what to expect."

I thought I did until I listened to Coughlin on Thursday night. Now, I know there's at least one side to the guy I knew nothing about. Too bad others don't, either.

"It doesn't bother me," Coughlin said. "The truth be known, it's like your religion. You don't wear it on your sleeve. You do the best you can possibly do. It's not necessary to be on the front page. I'm not worried about that. It doesn't bother me as long as we can help. And if we can help, we have an impact."