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An embattled Tom Coughlin was given another year to coach the New York Giants on Wednesday after he convinced owners he can make Eli Manning a better quarterback and the team a winner.
"He has a vision and he understands how that vision can now move forward," co-owner Jonathan Tisch said during a conference call to announce Coughlin's one-year contract extension. "He did not have to save his job. He did not have to talk us into anything."
Coughlin, 60, seemingly was on the hot seat after weathering a disappointing 8-8 regular season, fan and player unrest and a second straight first-round loss in the playoffs on Sunday.
In the two days that followed, Tisch and fellow co-owner John Mara talked football and coaching philosophy with Coughlin, who had a year left on the deal he signed in 2004.
The owners didn't ask Coughlin to make any changes and they said they were satisfied he was the right man to lead the Giants.
"Tom Coughlin is our coach for 2007 and hopefully for many years after that," Mara said. "That is the final decision."
Terms of the one-year extension were not immediately available. Coughlin was to earn $3 million in 2007.
Retaining Coughlin provides stability to a team whose co-owners, Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch, died within weeks of each other in late 2005 and which will lose general manager Ernie Accorsi to retirement next week.
However, Bill Parcells won't be filling Accorsi's job. The Cowboys coach reacted angrily Tuesday to a report that he he reached out to the Giants about the position.
"There is absolutely nothing to it," Parcells told the New York Daily News from Dallas. "Absolutely nothing. There has been no contact, either directly or through an intermediary. Whoever said it is a liar."
The meetings between Coughlin and ownership started Monday evening and continued through most of the day Tuesday. Tuesday's meetings were back and forth whether Coughlin would be back, but members of the Mara and Tisch families talked to some of the players still cleaning out their lockers in Giants Stadium and found solid support for keeping Coughlin.
Coughlin said he appreciated the decision and was not surprised.
"I did not have any feeling I wasn't going to be retained," Coughlin said in a separate conference call.
Many questioned whether Coughlin, who has a 25-23 regular-season record with the Giants and is 0-2 in the playoffs, was the right coach for a team that faltered a year after winning the NFC East with an 11-5 mark. Despite reports that players were tuning out their no-nonsense coach, Mara said Coughlin still has the respect of the team.
"I don't buy that," Mara said. "I think there is substantial support for him."
Mara would not discuss whether Coughlin would be making changes to his coaching staff. He admitted there were bound to be fans who were not happy with the decision.
"I am certainly sensitive to what the fans think. I have received a lot of mail. But at the end of the day you can't make decisions on what the fans say, but what your eyes tell you and what your experience in the game tells you," Mara said.
Mara said a major part of the interview process was listening to what Coughlin had to say about Manning, and he was satisfied with the answers. Mara would not detail what was said about the former No. 1 draft pick who did not improve in his second full season as a starter.
The Giants started the year with expectations of contending for the Super Bowl. After compiling a 6-2 record, that hope turned into a season of discontent, injuries and a second-half collapse that saw New York lose seven of nine games.
Fans were so upset by the team's performance in a 30-7 home loss to the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 24 that they shouted "Fire Coughlin" before walking out early in the fourth quarter.
The problems started with a 23-0 loss to Carolina in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago. Halfback Tiki Barber said after the game the Giants were outcoached. The halfback and coach settled their differences quickly.
The complaint, however, resurfaced early this season when Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey also said the team was outcoached after a one-sided loss in Seattle.
While it created headlines, the stir was short-lived when New York went on a five-game winning streak to reach the halfway point in first place. A second division title was on the horizon.
Then injuries to receiver Amani Toomer, seven-time Pro Bowler Strahan and offensive tackle Luke Petitgout contributed to the free fall that saw New York lose four of its final seven games despite having the lead or a tie in the fourth quarter.
Coughlin made one move down the stretch, relieving offensive coordinator John Hufnagel after the Saints game and giving quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride the play-calling duties.
Barber carried New York to a playoff berth days later with a team-record 234-yard rushing performance in a win over Washington. It gave New York a .500 record, good enough for the postseason in the weak NFC. The season ended this past Sunday with a last-second 23-20 loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Before joining the Giants, Coughlin was Jacksonville's head coach from 1995-2002 and went 72-64.
Credit - ESPN 
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