NFL

Giants owner says Coughlin not on hot seat

Giants owner John Mara told The Post yesterday there is no 2011 hot seat for Tom Coughlin.

Asked if Coughlin, who is soon expected to sign an extension through the 2012 season so he won’t be a lame duck, has to make the playoffs to stay, Mara said: “That’s a game the media plays. We don’t operate that way. We enter every season expecting to compete for a championship and we analyze our franchise from top to bottom at the conclusion of the season.

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“We believe in Tom as our leader and as our head coach.”

Mara, asked how he would characterize how eager or restless Coughlin is to get cracking again now that the NFL lockout has mercifully ended, said: “There isn’t a word in Webster’s to describe his desire to get his team together. He earned his doctorate in schedule-making this offseason.”