It's been a solid week for Tom Coughlin. The New York Giants coach signed a contract extension and spent Friday hanging out with President Barack Obama at the White House.
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According to Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, the extension alone had the normally even-keeled (sometimes grumpy) Coughlin in high spirits.
"I asked him if I can get a loan," Tuck told ESPNNewYork.com. "That's one of the reasons he was giddy all week. I told him I'm going to start calling him 'Cheese' now, first of all, because he has a lot of it and second because he keeps smiling."
So, for the record, Tom Coughlin is now known as "Cheese" to this proud nation. (While we're at it, the last Giants coach to win a pair of Super Bowls rolled around town known as "Tuna." None of this feels logic-based.)
Said Tuck: "(Coughlin) deserves to be the number-one paid head coach in this league. I've had an opportunity to play for only him in my NFL career and hopefully that stays the same."
How far we've traveled. It wasn't so long ago when a handful of Giants players -- Antrel Rolle, for one -- were less than secretive about their admiration for the so-called "players-coach" Rex Ryan. Coughlin's heavy-handed disciplinary tactics were a nuisance.
You don't hear Giants players talking about Ryan today. Not a peep about Old Rexy here in June, with Tuck and friends shaking hands with Obama on the steps of the White House. Not a word.