Phil Stacey
February 01, 2008 04:36 pm
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As the greatest tight end in New York Giants history, when Mark Bavaro speaks about his former team, people listen.
Now more than 17 years removed from playing for Big Blue (and 13-plus years since his last NFL snap), the 44-year-old Bavaro still pays attention to what his former employers are doing. And, like most of the country, he's amazed at what the Giants have done to reach Super Bowl XLII this Sunday against the undefeated New England Patriots.
"It's amazing what the Giants have been able to accomplish this year," said Bavaro, who caught 266 passes over six seasons with New York, scoring 28 touchdowns. "I don't think many people had them going to the Super Bowl."
It's impressive enough, said the former Danvers High and Notre Dame great, that the Giants went on the road to win three playoff games, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and finally the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. But what really impresses Bavaro is that head coach Tom Coughlin was the one to lead them down this path.
It was assumed that Coughlin would be fired by the Giants after the team struggled to a disappointing 8-8 regular season mark in 2006, then lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-20, in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs.
"Tom was really a lame duck coach. The general consensus down there (in New York) was that he was gone," Bavaro said of Coughlin, who was an assistant coach for the Giants for three years when Bavaro played there (1988-90).
"I think if there was anyone they thought was worth getting (as a head coach), Tom would have been gone. When there wasn't, they knew Tom was in the last year of his contract (this year) and probably figured, 'Let's just let him finish up this year and not upset the apple cart.' "
When the Giants gave up 80 points combined in losing their first two games to Dallas and Green Bay, respectively, many New Yorkers probably wondered why management didn't can Coughlin during the offseason. It appeared to get even worse in Week 3, when they found themselves trailing the Redskins at halftime, 17-3.
But a strong second half enabled the Giants to prevail, 24-17, beginning a six-game winning streak that turned their season around. They didn't lose another road game for the rest of the year. They again reached the playoffs as a Wild Card team, reeling off three more road victories to reach the Super Bowl for the fourth time in franchise history.
"That's the amazing thing about Tom," said Bavaro, who now calls Topsfield home. "He really doesn't get rattled. For him to be nonplussed about all the firing talk and the awful start to the season when it looked like they'd struggle just to reach .500 ... Tom just continued business as usual. That's Tom's trademark; he doesn't let things bother him outwardly."
Another Coughlin trademark is the constant scowl. He is the definition of an old-school football coach: no-nonsense, hard to please and only showing emotion when he's yelling at one of his players or the officials.
That's accurate, said Bavaro | to a point.
"He was definitely a taskmaster," said Bavaro, "an extremely hard-working coach. I know he expected a lot from his wide receivers when I was in New York. Those guys lived in fear of him in the beginning. But once they got to know each other, he was fine."
But that perception changes completely outside of football, Bavaro said. He paints Coughlin as "a regular guy," who is a loving, gentle family man willing to help the less fortunate.
As evidence, Bavaro points to the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation and the golf tournament Coughlin holds each year in Jacksonville. The foundation is in honor of one of Coughlin's former players at Boston College, Jay McGillis, who died of leukemia while playing at BC. The foundation's Web site says its mission is to assist children with cancer and their families by providing emotional and financial support.
"To see him stand up and be the spokesman at the dinner and golf outing and do all of these things is great," said Bavaro. "They've raised a ton of money, and people come from all over the country to participate. I sat at a table last year with (Buffalo Bills head coach) Dick Jauron (of Swampscott) and John Fox (the Carolina Panthers head coach), to name two. It's a really impressive turnout."
One memory, however, makes Bavaro chuckle. It's when Coughlin would stand on a particular tee box during the tournament, posing for photos with each foursome as they'd attempt to out-drive the famous NFL head coach.
"In my mind, I'm thinking that must be absolute torture for Tom," Bavaro laughed. "But at the same time, he gets to interact with every group that comes through, and it's all for the foundation. That's what he cares about."
Bavaro | who is also very close with another of his former assistant coaches from his Giants days, current Patriots head coach Bill Belichick | is not about to predict a Giant victory Sunday. Not against an undefeated New England team that many folks believe may be the best of all time.
But with Coughlin at the helm, he does think the Giants have a shot.
"They're more than capable of beating the Pats. I'm not saying they will," said Bavaro, "but they can. And if they do, it'd be one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time."
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