Giants coach Tom Coughlin: Plaxico Burress shooting cost us title

Giants coach Tom Coughlin believes he should have another Super Bowl ring if the Plaxico Burress shooting didn't happen. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin believes he should have another Super Bowl ring on his finger in addition to the two he already has.

Coughlin said to the YES Network in an interview set to air June 4 that he believes that 2008 team had a great chance at another ring but the Plaxico Burress shooting happened.

Burress, who caught the winning touchdown in the 17-14 upset victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, accidentally shot himself in the right thigh while at a New York City nightclub in November 2008. Burress served two years in prison for two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and one count of reckless endangerment.

At the time of the shooting, the Giants were 11-1 and well on their way to the top seed in the NFC. The Giants were eventually upset by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Had that incident not occurred, Coughlin said he was certain the team would repeat as Super Bowl champs. "We were the best team in the NFL at the time of the shooting," Coughlin said, via the Star-Ledger.