Coughlin extended by Giants

Tom Coughlin was given a one-year reprieve to turn the New York Giants into a legitimate contender.

While the team's owners didn't give him an ultimatum, their message was clear.

"I think he knows we need to do better, that our expectations are much higher," co-owner John Mara said in a conference call yesterday. "I think we have enough talent on this roster to do better."

Mara and co-owner Jonathan Tisch gave the 60-year-old coach a one-year contract extension through 2008, an agreement reached just days after the Giants were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.

It was a disappointing finish for a team that won the NFC East in 2005 with an 11-5 mark and thought it had a Super Bowl shot coming into this season. A 6-2 first half fueled those expectations.

However, injuries to seven-time Pro Bowler Michael Strahan and leading receiver Amani Toomer, mistakes, and a sub-par second half by quarterback Eli Manning led to a 2-7 finish that caused fan unrest and put Coughlin's job in jeopardy after New York's 23-20 playoff loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday.

In the two days that followed, Tisch and Mara talked football with Coughlin, and he convinced them he could make Manning better and the team a winner.

"He has a vision and he understands how that vision can now move forward," Tisch said. "He did not have to save his job. He did not have to talk us into anything."

Coughlin, who was to earn $3 million in 2007, appreciated the decision but said he wasn't surprised. "I did not have any feeling I wasn't going to be retained," Coughlin said in a separate conference call.

The Dolphins' tour of coaches made stops to visit three more candidates, including Detroit offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Owner Wayne Huizenga's private plane flew to Michigan from the Northeast, where the Dolphins interviewed Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. That increased to 12 the number of coaches interviewed since Nick Saban left for Alabama a week ago . . . The Cardinals are bringing former Packers coach Mike Sherman back today for a second interview for their coaching vacancy . . . The Broncos fired defensive line/tackles coach Andre Patterson, one day after dismissing defensive coordinator Larry Coyer . . . Terrell Owens has fired Kim Etheredge, his publicist since 2005, according to several media reports this week. Etheredge was the person who called 911 from Owens's home Sept. 26 to report that the Cowboys receiver was having an allergic reaction to an accidental overdose of pain medication.

LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell said he'll skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. After a standout performance (332 yards, two TDs) in a 41-14 victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl last week, the 6-foot-6-inch, 257-pound Russell had been expected to declare early for the draft . . . Dwayne Jarrett, the leading receiver in school history, announced he will skip his senior season at Southern California to enter the draft. Jarrett, a 6-5, 215-pounder, ends his college career with a Pac 10-record 41 touchdowns in 38 games . . . Clemson cornerback C.J. Gaddis, who started 11 games this season and had two interceptions, will pass up his senior year and enter the NFL draft . . . Darrell Jackson, Seattle's leading receiver, is listed as questionable for Sunday's NFC playoff game at Chicago, but is expected to play . . . The Maxwell Football Club honored San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson and New Orleans coach Sean Payton. Tomlinson won the Bert Bell Award as the pro player of the year, and Payton the Earle "Greasy" Neale Award as the top coach in pro football.