NFL

Coughlin’s new book shows Giants coach is far from retirement

Tom Coughlin: Book on sale today

Tom Coughlin: Book on sale today

Tom Coughlin is the kind of guy who regularly tries to renegotiate a certain contract.

This may come as a shock to anyone familiar with the straight-arrow coach of the Giants, but it’s true. Years ago, Coughlin writes in his second and newest book, “Earn The Right To Win,’’ published by Portfolio/Penguin, he “made a contract’’ with his wife, Judy, to spend five days in the off-season together “far away from the office.’’

Judy has pushed to increase the terms of the agreement to seven days; Coughlin admits he has attempted to “renegotiate the terms of that agreement’’ to shorten the time he commits away from the job.

This revelation and several others in the book — on sale today — give a pretty clear indication Coughlin, at 66 the oldest head coach in the NFL, is not on any sort of retirement track now or in the near future. At times, the intensity and earnest fervor he has for coaching jump off many of the 210 pages, often designed as a primer on how to succeed in any field by leaning on superior preparation.

Anything penned by Coughlin (in this case with author David Fisher) is not going to be a tell-all, or even a tell-some. The only dirt he describes is on his shoes during those early days in Jacksonville when his office was a trailer in the mud. He does manage to tweak the Jets for covering up a Giants mural depicting their Super Bowl victories prior to the 2011 regular-season game. Coughlin says he made sure to remind his team “the Jets were attacking the accomplishments, the history and the tradition of the New York Giants franchise.’’

Coughlin also takes a shot at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who prior to the playoff game after the 2007 season left two tickets to the following week’s NFC title game for each of his players.

“Basically, he was dismissing us,’’ Coughlin recalled, saying after the Giants won he told his jubilant team, “Jerry just sent over the tickets, so we’re all set.’’

Mostly, Coughlin offers his core beliefs regarding coaching techniques, scheduling, time management, stressing details and motivation. Not surprisingly, quotes from John Wooden are free-flowing.

Clearly, Coughlin is thrilled with the evolution of his relationship with Michael Strahan, who wrote the foreword and admitted he “hated’’ Coughlin in the early stages of their 2004 first season together. Times have changed, as Strahan says, “I tell people proudly that I love the man.’’

Coughlin writes glowingly of Victor Cruz for rising above the limited expectations the organization had for him, making Cruz’s tenuous contract situation even more compelling. Coughlin lauds players such as Chase Blackburn and Antrel Rolle and recounts a sit-down with a depressed Justin Tuck where the two talked “like father and son rather than a coach and a player.’’ The reverence for Eli Manning is obvious. “Why would you ever yell at him, no matter how he has played?’’ Coughlin writes.

Other tidbits:

* Rather than listen to music or (heaven forbid) sports talk, Coughlin puts on motivational tapes while driving to glean material he can use for his team.

* Coughlin made sure the Giants charted how the shadows moved across the field before their first season at MetLife Stadium.

* Coughlin says it’s one of his rules that something (carpeting, paint on the walls, new computers in the players lounge) is changed or upgraded every year when the team returns the next season to make players aware “they are members of a first-class organization.’’

* Communication was not always his strong suit, Coughlin says, as he learned it from his parents and, in school, from nuns “who basically communicated with a pointer to your knuckles.’’

* It’s not exactly a shocker Coughlin says, “I’m not a huge fan of rap or heavy metal,’’ explaining “Sometimes I don’t understand a word of it.’’ Still, he allows that music to be mixed into the highlight reels used to motivate his players.

* At the conclusion of the Saturday night team meeting on New Year’s Eve prior to last season’s game against the Cowboys, Coughlin had waiters serve champagne. “You spend New Year’s Eve with your family,’’ Coughlin told his players, “and this is your family.’’

paul.schwartz@nypost.com