The Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Tom Coughlin signed a four-year contract to coach the New York Giants Tuesday.

The former Jacksonville Jaguars coach vowed to bring back a brand of smashmouth, mistake-free football that led New York to two Super Bowls under his mentor, Bill Parcells.

"It is a tremendous challenge, and I am looking forward to working with these players and re-establishing the New York Giants' tradition of physically controlling the line of scrimmage," Coughlin said.

Coughlin and the Giants finalized the more than $11 million deal Tuesday.

Coughlin, 57, succeeds Jim Fassel, who was fired following a 4-12 season in which the Giants lost their final eight games.

A former Giants assistant under Parcells, Coughlin was 72-64 in eight seasons with the Jaguars, twice leading them to the AFC title game. He was fired after 2002, his third straight losing season.

RAMS: Wide receiver Isaac Bruce is expected to be at full strength for Saturday's game against Carolina after missing most of the last two regular-season games because of a sprained left ankle. He has 69 catches for 981 yards this season.

MAXWELL AWARDS: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. Manning received 293 first-place votes to win the Bert Bell trophy; Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis was second and Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair was third. Coach of the Year went to Kansas City's Dick Vermeil.

COWBOYS: Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is staying with Dallas. Coach Bill Parcells said Zimmer told University of Nebraska officials he was remaining in the pros rather than pursue the Cornhuskers' head coaching vacancy. Zimmer was in Lincoln, Neb., Monday for an interview.

RAIDERS: Dennis Green has interviewed for Oakland's head coaching vacancy. He spent Monday afternoon with owner Al Davis and appears to be the leading candidate to replace Bill Callahan, who was fired last week.

The 54-year-old Green, who was head coach for the Vikings and Stanford, also has interviewed with the Cardinals and Redskins.

Davis also had a telephone interview Friday with Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders.

RATINGS ARE IN: Monday Night Football ratings this season were up 1 percent, and ESPN showed an increase of 4 percent for its Sunday night games. CBS, which carries AFC games, had no change in the ratings; Fox, which has the NFC, was down 2 percent, according to Neilsen Media Research.

On all four networks overall, the league's ratings remained the same: a 9.5 rating and 19 share.

Return to Bengals front page...