NFL

Coughlin brushes off retirement talk

INDIANAPOLIS — Tom Coughlin doesn’t know where Terrell Thomas got the idea he only wants to coach one more year.

The Giants’ boss threw a bucket of cold water on his young cornerback’s recent declaration yesterday, making it clear he still has plenty of goals left to accomplish with Big Blue and isn’t ready to walk away.

“I don’t even know how a young man would come [to making] that statement,” Coughlin said at a news conference during the NFL scouting combine. “I approach each year the way I’ve always approached them. The energy’s flowing good. I’m excited about it, and I’m looking forward to this offseason and getting our football team together again. Maybe at some point, I’ll get the message. But it certainly isn’t right now.”

Then again, Thomas might have been off by only one year. That’s because Coughlin — who turns 67 in August and is the league’s oldest coach — at the same time refused to publicly commit to coaching beyond his current contract, which runs through the 2014 season.

“Ask me that next year,” Coughlin said. “Next year is 2013 for me, and I’m geared up for that. Let’s go do that, then we’ll talk about whatever else. I’ve got two years on this contract. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it. I’ve got goals and things I want to get done … as part of this great New York Giants organization.”

But as upbeat as Coughlin was yesterday in the halls of Lucas Oil Stadium, where just 12 months ago he won the second of his two Super Bowl titles, he admitted the Giants’ disappointing 2012 season — and it’s messy aftermath — have worn on him.

To miss the playoffs and then have to cut running back Ahmad Bradshaw, one of his favorite players, hasn’t been fun or easy.

“It was tough,” Coughlin said of releasing Bradshaw, who could still return with a cheaper contract. “He’s a young man. He’s a human being. Nobody’s perfect, but when that guy took the field, there wasn’t any question about what his intensity was or what he would bring to the table in terms of toughness and courage and how he played.

“The Giants organization loves Ahmad Bradshaw, and we have tremendous respect for what he accomplished. When he came down to my office, it was tough, very tough.”

Coughlin also revealed:

* While the Giants already have released Bradshaw, Chris Canty and Michael Boley this offseason because of cap woes, they might not be done with big cuts.

“I wouldn’t be surprised by anything, to be honest with you,” Coughlin said when asked if more cuts are on the way. “Some things we do have to get done, and we have to find a way to do it.”

* Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. The procedure was minor, and Coughlin is optimistic about Nicks’ ability to bounce back from an injury-limited 2012.

“I saw him the other day — his eyes are big and bright again,” Coughlin said.

* Center David Baas underwent offseason surgery, but Coughlin — in his typical style — wouldn’t specify the location aside from “on his body.”

Baas appeared in all 16 games last season, so it most likely was a cleanup procedure.

* Guard Chris Snee had surgery to repair a hip injury, a procedure with a recovery time that can be as long as eight months.

Coughlin acknowledged Snee would be unavailable during the offseason but said he expects “a full recovery” by his son-in-law.