There was once The Summer of George. And now we're witnessing The Spring of Tom.
New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is fresh off his second Super Bowl win in five years, and was named the NFL's best coach in a recent Sporting News poll. An even greater honor came his way this week, when the coach was honored for his dedication to the U.S. Army.
Coughlin, along with Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and two others, was given the Outstanding Civilian Service Award by Army Chief of Staff Raymond T. Odierno in a ceremony at Fort Myer in Virginia.
"When the general was standing there reading off that stuff about me, it was almost like I was saying to myself, 'Who's he talking about?'" Coughlin told The New York Post.
"It was unbelievable to me," he said. "The patriotism just came pouring out of me with all of the pomp and circumstance and standing there next to a four-star general. That's what you call humbling."
For years, Coughlin -- a noted military buff -- has invited soldiers and the families to attend practices and games. He's visited wounded soldiers at both Walter Reed Medical Center and other locations and has also flown to Iraq as part of a USO tour in 2009.
"I've been fortunate enough to accomplish a lot in my coaching career, but this stacks right up there," Coughlin said. "This means the world to me."
Coughlin will be back in D.C. on June 8 when he and the Giants visit President Obama at the White House. The Spring of Tom rolls on.
