Coughlin has been the Giants' head coach since 2004. His regular season record with the club is 65-47 (.580). Coughlin's 65 regular season victories are the third-highest total among head coaches in Giants history, behind only Hall of Famer Steve Owen (153) and Bill Parcells (77).
Coughlin's postseason record is 4-3. He joins Parcells as the only Giants coaches with playoff records over .500 and his four postseason victories trail only Parcells, who had eight.
The 2011 season will be Coughlin's eighth as the Giants' head coach. Only three other men in the 87-year history of the Giants have been the team's head coach for at least eight years. Owen coached for 23 seasons (1931-53). Allie Sherman (1961-68) and Parcells (1983-90) each coached the Giants for eight seasons.
"As I was when I was hired in 2004, I am grateful for the opportunity," said Coughlin. "To be the head coach of the New York Giants is the fulfillment of a dream for somebody who grew up where I grew up and when I grew up. As I have said roughly a thousand times, we're all on one-year contracts in this business, but the reality is that I am thankful to work for people like the Maras and the Tisches and with people like (General Manager) Jerry Reese and his staff, as well as my coaching staff and our players."
The Giants finished the 2010 season with a 10-6 record, following marks of 8-8, 12-4, 10-6, 8-8 and 11-5 the previous five seasons. Their six-year streak without a losing record is the Giants' longest since they had 10 in a row from 1954-63. The Giants won at least 10 games in four of Coughlin's first seven seasons as head coach.
"As we said after the season, we strongly believe in Tom," said President John Mara. "We believe in the job he has done, and we believe in his ability to lead our team in the future. Everybody was on the same page in arriving at the extension."
Prior to joining the Giants, Coughlin coached the Jacksonville Jaguars for the first eight seasons of their existence (1995-2002). His NFL regular season record is 133-107 (.554) and his postseason mark is 8-7 for an overall record of 141-114 (.553). Coughlin's 133 regular season victories place him third among current NFL head coaches, behind New England's Bill Belichick and Washington's Mike Shanahan. Coughlin is the only one of those three coaches to have coached an expansion team. The 133 victories leave him in 21st place on the NFL's all-time regular season list, six behind Tony Dungy.
Coughlin's 141 total victories also place him 21st, six behind former Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher. A victory over the Jets on Oct. 7, 2007 was the 100th of Coughlin's career, including postseason games. Coughlin won his 100th regular season game at Detroit on Nov. 18, 2007.
"Our players respond to and play hard for Tom," said Chairman Steve Tisch. "We look forward to being able to continue to benefit from Tom's energy and drive and work ethic, all of which are second to none."
"Nobody works harder than Tom at trying to make the team as good as it can be," said Reese, "and nobody pushes himself and his staff harder than Tom to try to figure out the best way to win."
In 2007 Coughlin led the Giants to four postseason victories, including a 17-14 Super Bowl XLII triumph over the previously undefeated New England Patriots. Coughlin is one of just six active coaches to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. The others are Belichick, Shanahan, Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton and Mike McCarthy. When the Giants won Super Bowl XLII, Coughlin became the 26th different head coach to win a Super Bowl, and the second to win one with the Giants (Parcells won two). At 1-0, Coughlin is one of 19 coaches with an unblemished Super Bowl record. Coughlin was 61 years and 156 days old when the Giants defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. He is the third-oldest coach to win a Super Bowl. Only Dick Vermeil and Weeb Ewbank were older.
Coughlin has won four division titles and led his teams to the playoffs eight times in his 15 seasons as an NFL head coach. He twice led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game prior to leading the Giants to victory in the NFC Championship Game. Coughlin is one of just six coaches to lead teams to a championship game in each conference since the 1970 merger. The others are Parcells and Dan Reeves (both former Giants coaches), as well as Chuck Knox,
Jon Gruden and Dungy.
Coughlin was named the 16th head coach in franchise history on Jan. 6, 2004.
The Giants improved from four to six to 11 victories and the NFC East title in Coughlin's first two seasons with the team. In 2006, they went 8-8 and earned an NFC Wild Card playoff berth. The following season, the Giants were 10-6 in the regular season and again reached postseason play as a Wild Card, which served as a springboard to the team's Super Bowl victory. In 2008, they were again one of the NFL's very best teams and reached the playoffs for the first time following a Super Bowl appearance. Last season, the Giants were only the sixth double-digit victory team to fall short of the postseason since the NFL's realignment in 2002.
The Giants have reached many statistical milestones under Coughlin. Their offense has been ranked seventh, eighth and fifth in the NFL, respectively, in the last three seasons, the first time they've been in the Top 10 in three consecutive seasons since 1970-72. In 2008, the Giants and Philadelphia Eagles were the only two NFL teams to be ranked in the top nine in both offense and defense. Last season, the Giants, San Diego, Green Bay and New Orleans were the only teams to be ranked that high in both offense and defense.
Coughlin's previous contract extension, which he signed in 2008 following the Giants' Super Bowl victory, was scheduled to expire after the 2011 season.
