Former Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin Reveals Super Bowl Rooting Dilemma

Former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin spent 12 seasons in charge of a football team where his rooting interest lay with seeing the players and coaches succeed as one.

Although he has moved on from the franchise, he helped guide two Super Bowl championships, the 74-year-old Coughlin, who will be tuned into Sunday's Super Bowl LV featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is facing something of a rooting dilemma.

"Well, I have those that I'm most proud of and hopeful for, but I do recognize those that are in the game that have been a part of something that I've been a part of, and I always wish them well," Coughlin told SiriusXM NFL Radio's Bob Papa and Charlie Weis this week.

At the crux of Coughlin's dilemma in picking a team is that Steve Spagnuolo, his former defensive coordinator who helped the franchise win its first championship with Coughlin at the helm, is holding that same role for the Chiefs, who are looking to become the first NFL team to win consecutive Super Bowls since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 (XXXVIII and XXXIX).

On the other side of the coin is defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants first-round draft pick 2010 who in 2011 blocked a Cowboys kick that saved the Giants' season as they went on to win their second Super Bowl championship under Coughlin's watch.

Coughlin, predictably, took the high road, crowing to Papa and Weiss about how proud he was of two men who blossomed in very different roles under his watch.

"I'm so very proud to have been a part of that, that young man's the start of his career," Coughlin said of Pierre-Paul. "If you remember the talent of Jason Pierre-Paul, when we went to work him out, there was a young guy who was just a tremendous athlete that could stand and do a full backflip and land on his feet.

"This is a kid who didn't play a lot of football, yet was so extremely talented upon his arrival, and had to be taught everything. But he was a a tremendous source of pride to all of us because of his development."

And what about Spagnuolo, who Coughlin hired from the Eagles in 2007 to take over for Tim Lewis, even though Spagnuolo had never been an NFL coordinator?

"What doesn't Steve bring to the table?" said Coughlin, who would also hire Spagnuolo in 2015 after Spagnuolo's head coaching career had failed to take root.

"He is positive. He has a great understanding of the game of football. He has a tremendous personality. He has a love of people and players who play for him respond in a great way. So, Steve arriving where he is--don't forget, he's got two Super Bowl rings and is playing for a third."

Okay, but which team did Coughlin think has the best chance of emerging victorious Sunday?

"I just wish everyone the best," Coughlin said. "I'm no different than anybody in the country. I want to see a great game."

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