Hakeem Nicks said Thursday he believes the defending Super Bowl champs did the right thing by extending coach Tom Coughlin’s contract.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” the Giants receiver told The Post at a signing event at Lord and Taylor in midtown. “[Coach Coughlin] has taught me how to be a pro, how to be valuable to the team. He demonstrates great character, which rubs off on the players.”
The Giants gave Coughlin a three-year, $20 million extension on Wednesday, making him the third-highest paid coach in the NFL.
“I definitely [consider him a top coach in the NFL],” Nicks said. “A good team needs to have a head coach who knows what he’s doing.”
Nicks, who was wearing a walking boot after suffering a fractured fifth metatarsal during an OTA practice last month, was optimistic about his recovery schedule.
“[The rehab] is going real good,” he said. “It’s only been two weeks, so I’ve been taking it slow, icing it, keeping the swelling down. I feel like everything has been going the way we planned, the way we would like things to be going.”
The Giants originally put a 12-week timetable for the star receiver’s return, but Nicks has been keeping his head up during the rehab process.
“I don’t look at [the injury] in a negative light,” Nicks said. “I look forward to it as a positive and that I’ll be able to go back out there and do the things that I do.”
Nicks’ injury will not keep him from the Giants’ Super Bowl celebration at the White House this afternoon.
“I’m excited about it; it’s the experience of a lifetime. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to do it again,” Nicks said.