More than 20 years after working together as assistant coaches for a Super Bowl champion, Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin are pitted against each other as coaching rivals in Super Bowl 46.
Belichick will try to equal the record of four Super Bowl coaching triumphs when he guides the New England Patriots against Coughlin’s New York Giants on Sunday at Indianapolis.
Coughlin and Belichick spent the 1998-1990 seasons as assistant coaches for the Giants under Bill Parcells, culminating with a 1991 Super Bowl victory. Coughlin coached receivers while Belichick was defensive coordinator.
They would trade secrets on techniques each used, allowing the other to better understand how the other’s players were trained to react in what Belichick called the best relationship he ever had with another assistant.
“We had a very good give and take on a daily basis. We were able to help each other out and help us both be better coaches,” Belichick said.
“It was very exceptional.”
Coughlin learned from the exchanges as well.
“There was a certain amount of competitiveness about the positions and the interaction,” Coughlin said.
“More than that there was a spirit of cooperation. We helped each other and would act as each other’s scout squad.
“We worked well together and it was a very good thing for our staff because our cooperation was outstanding.”
Belichick admires much of what he sees from Coughlin even as he tries to find ways to foil his plans, especially in the wake of a loss to the Giants in the 2008 Super Bowl to spoil an unbeaten season and another defeat last November.
Coughlin hopes to have some new tricks up his sleeve for Belichick on Sunday as well.
“I certainly do admire him,” Coughlin said.
“He’s an exceptional coach. Bill’s going to work very hard, as we are, at showing you something and it really isn’t what you think it is. You really have to add an element of that into how you prepare.”
Both were disciplines of Parcells, whose discipline and no-nonsense manner was mixed with demanding workouts and high expectations.
“I don’t know who rubs off on whom,” Belichick said. “That was the way Tom was as an assistant coach. He was fair, but firm, like he is now.
“There’s a lot of Bill Parcells in that, too. He is demanding. He expects a lot. There’s a different style, but some similarities as a coach.”
Coughlin said his time under Parcells taught him the value of continuity, repetition and stability.
“There were very few peaks and valleys,” Coughlin said.
“Ultimately, anyone who was around Parcells for any length of time learned how to win. That’s the biggest thing I took away from it.”