Tom Coughlin has never been the NFL's coach of the year. Eli Manning has never won the most valuable player award.
But with two Super Bowl victories in the past five seasons, they have emerged as the NFL's top coach-quarterback tandem.
Coughlin, 65, and Manning, 30, are getting better with time, and it was never more evident than it was this season, which ended Sunday with the Giants defeating the New England Patriots 21-17 for the franchise's fourth Super Bowl title.
The bond between Coughlin and Manning is there for all to see. It is found in the word team.
"He epitomizes everything that I believe in as a player," Coughlin said Monday. "(That's) in terms of the quality, the way he produces, the way he handles it among his teammates, on and off the field."
It's sometimes hard to tell whether Coughlin has rubbed off on Manning, or vice versa.
"He is confident," Coughlin said. "He is not arrogant. He has always thought about team first. He is the perfect guy in regard to that because he is continuously spreading things around. He hands the praise out, he distributes it well. He looks to his teammates. He is a guy who is an outstanding leader. He has taken responsibility for his team."
Never was that leadership more evident than late in games this season. Manning led the Giants (13-7) to fourth-quarter rallies that produced victories seven times, including Sunday.
"A championship is a championship," said Manning, who threw for a career-best and franchise-best 4,933 yards this season. "Each one is special. Each one has special moments during the season and, obviously, different teammates. This year, I am just happy for a number of guys getting a championship.
"...To give them that opportunity for these next five or six months, we can say, 'Hey, we are the best. We are the champs.' That's a pretty nice feeling."
John Mara, the Giants chief executive, said the secret to Manning's success is his calm demeanor.
"The more his back is against the wall, the better he performs," Mara said. "There is nobody I would rather have with the ball in his hands at the end of the game, with a chance to win, than Eli Manning."
Linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said Manning is the perfect quarterback for the New York metropolitan area because he is so resilient. He gets knocked down, he gets back up. He gets criticized by the media, he doesn't care.
"If you can't get back up, you are not going to stay around that long," Kiwanuka said.
Coughlin left little doubt that he will be back next season, joking he is only 45.
Coughlin could be around for a while after his second title as a head coach. He signed a contract extension in July that runs through next season, but it looks as is the Giants could revisit that deal.
It's obvious he still wants to coach.
"I don't fish, I don't golf," he said. "My wife keeps telling me, 'You better have something to do, buddy boy. If you think you're going to hang around here, you're crazy.' "
Mara said it's safe to say the team wants Coughlin back.
"He might be 65, but he's got the energy of somebody quite younger than that," he said.
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