For the third straight year, a Tom Coughlin team is 6-2. That’s very impressive. Many people have obviously recognized this by mentioning his name as a Coach of the Year candidate. He certainly deserves to be included in that arena, especially considering many had the Giants as a last place team in 2007. Now to the flip side. Last year they went a dreadful 2-6 in the last eight. Two years ago, when the won the NFC East, they went 5-3 and bowed out without a fight in the playoff game versus Carolina. One could make the arguement, and I agree, that injuries had a huge role in those dissapointments.  However, how the team finishes this year will determines Couglin’s fate.
General Manager Jerry Reese without a doubt wants to see how the team performs down the stretch, particularly because this year’s team is for the most part injury free and in position to earn a playoff berth. Reese wants his teams to be playing well in November/December when the stakes become high and playoff teams assert themselves. I don’t want to get into how many wins out of the remaining eight the Giants have to win to get Coughlin an invite back. I do think they need to make the playoffs. A playoff win? That’s debatable. Playing at a high level is what Reese is looking for the rest of the way and not the stumbling, lacking confidence team which finished out 2006. Reese knows he has a relatively young team which can be good for the next three to four years. Most every offseason question mark has been answered with an exclamation point. The last question he wants answered is whether Coughlin is the man to guide the team over that span.
