The two central figures who will be manning opposite sidelines in Super Bowl XLVI a week from Sunday at Lucas Oil Field are not quite opposites, but close.
Bill Belichick of the Patriots will be the coach with the foreboding look, wearing the characteristic tattered “hoodie’’ sweatshirt.
Tom Coughlin of the Giants will be the guy who looks like a cross between your dad and your uncle, with an old-school appearance and approach, wearing a constant constipated, concerned look on his face.
Belichick’s players perform for him out of fear.
Coughlin’s perform for him more out of respect.
Belichick, because of his detached demeanor with the media and the fact his teams have won so often in the last 11 years, is viewed by many as the bully of the NFL.
There aren’t a lot of people outside of New England who are rooting for him to succeed.
Coughlin has taken a come-full-circle career route. He started here as a respected coach whose discipline was revered to one who was perceived to be too rigid in his ways, to a 65-year-old coach who has watched the game pass him by in a younger man’s game, to a sympathetic figure respected for changing with the times.
It has been quite a ride for Coughlin, who is in his eighth year with the Giants.
Coughlin’s job security seemed to be a topic of conversation and debate every other week before the Giants began their magical run from being stuck at 7-7 and a play or two from missing the playoffs to NFC champions.
Conversely, Belichick might be the only coach in the NFL who’s almost guaranteed to leave his team on his own terms — a remarkable feat in a profession where unhappy, pink-slip endings are the norm.
Despite the contrasts between the two coaches, they share common denominators.
Both are direct descendents from the Bill Parcells coaching tree, having worked together on Parcells’ staff from 1988-90, sharing a Super Bowl victory together in the 1990 season when Belichick was the defensive coordinator and Coughlin was the receivers coach.
Both left the Giants after that Super Bowl to become head coaches — Belichick to Cleveland and Coughlin to Boston College.
They coached against each other the last time the Patriots and Giants played in a Super Bowl, in February of 2008, when Coughlin’s Giants prevailed, ending the Patriots’ bid at an undefeated season.
While Coughlin owns that upper hand, Belichick owns three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.
“I have a lot of respect for Tom,’’ Belichick said yesterday on a conference call with reporters. “I think he’s definitely stood the test of time in a couple organizations. He’s tough. His teams are disciplined. That’s kind of the way Tom is.
“Tom is tough, he’s very detailed, he has a lot of experience, he’s an intense coach and I think that’s reflected in the way his teams play. He’s a good friend of mine that I’ve been with a long time.’’
Belichick is famously known for throwing fake bouquets to opposing teams and their coaches in a buttering up tactic.
In the case of Coughlin, Belichick’s respect seems genuine — despite his classless storming off the field at the end of the Super Bowl four years ago, when he made no effort to seek out Coughlin for a congratulatory handshake.
Belichick, whose Patriots lost to the Giants at home on Nov. 6 (their last loss), knows what he’s up against on Feb. 5. Where he might own a coaching edge against many other opponents because of his experience, Belichick knows he has no edge in this game.
“This is going to be our toughest game,’’ Belichick said. “[The Giants] have performed well under pressure in critical games. They’ve played some of their best football when they’ve had to when it’s counted the most. We know this is the best team we’ve played. This is going to take our best game, and that’s the way it should be.’’