Giants coach Tom Coughlin does not care that the Jets are making headlines this offseason, because his team makes them during the playoffs.
The Jets have taken the spotlight this past week with the acquisition of backup quarterback Tim Tebow, one of the most intriguing figures in football. Coughlin, speaking at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Springs, Fla., did not seem concerned.
“You know who the world champions are. Whether we’re on the front page every day or not, it’s not that important to me. New Yorkers know who won the Super Bowl,” said Coughlin, who coached the Giants to a Super Bowl XLVI win over the Patriots last month.
Tebow’s arrival has sparked a quarterback controversy, even though the Jets have maintained Mark Sanchez will remain the starter. Jets coach Rex Ryan said earlier in the week that Tebow could see up to 20 snaps a game in the Wildcat offense.
Coughlin was asked if he could imagine doing that to two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
“Our guy? No,” he said.
The Giants re-signed Manning’s backup David Carr earlier this week, and at the time, owner John Mara joked about holding a press conference similar to the huge one Tebow had at the Jets fieldhouse Monday. Coughlin said he has not experimented with shuffling quarterbacks.
“I don’t have a lot of experience with that, because that’s not ever the way we’ve done it,” Coughlin said. “Once you start to develop your guy, you like him with the ball in his hand as much as you possibly can.”
But that does not mean Coughlin is not impressed with Tebow, who took over as a starter for a 1-4 Broncos team and led them to the AFC West title and playoff win over the Steelers.
“That’s none of my business what they’ve done,” Coughlin said of the Jets trade.
“That’s their business. I can tell you this: Tim Tebow was 7-4. People talk about how he does things, but he has won. From afar, observing him as a college player and a rookie in the NFL, he’s physically tough and has ability as a runner, and there are things throwing the ball that he does better than other. You’ve got a guy who’s going to be a force in the locker room, a positive guy. That’s someone else’s decision, you certainly can think of ways in which you could use him. You have to prepare. You have to think about it.”
With Bart Hubbuch