Coughlin receives 4-year contract

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 8, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tom Coughlin was rewarded for the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory, agreeing to a four-year, $21 million contract Friday that will make him one of the NFL's highest- paid coaches.

He will earn about $5.25 million annually, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person said the team will announce the deal today. The two sides had the outline of the deal in place for weeks.

The contract gives Coughlin a $2 million increase over last season and what he was to have earned this year. Seattle's Mike Holmgren is the NFL's top-paid coach, at $8 million a year.

Gary O'Hagan, Coughlin's agent, did not return a call. The Giants had no comment.

"I don't think Tom's going to change," veteran punter Jeff Feagles said in a telephone interview. "The monetary value, that falls into line with what other coaches make. And especially with the Giants, you're rewarded for what you do on the field and your dedication, and Tom deserves every bit of it."

Coughlin had been on the verge of being fired after the Giants went 8-8 in 2006 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year. Coughlin and the Giants (14- 6) both staged remarkable turnarounds, capped by a 17-14 win over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Goodell seeks spying crackdown

NEW YORK -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants to crack down on spying next season with more inspections and harsher penalties, steps that follow the disciplining of the Patriots for taping opponents' signals.

Goodell is urging tougher action on teams and employees that would include unannounced inspections of locker rooms and coaches' areas in press boxes and a lower standard of proof for imposing discipline on those who violate rules. Loss of draft choices would be a possible punishment.

The changes, first disclosed in The Washington Post on Friday, are contained in a memo obtained by The Associated Press. It was sent to the league's rule-making competition committee, which will make recommendations to the owners at the league meeting starting March 30 in Palm Beach, Fla.

"I think there are a number of steps that should be taken in advance of the start of the 2008 season to improve and strengthen the enforcement procedures designed to preserve the competitive integrity of the game," Goodell wrote in the memo.

It is a direct outgrowth from Spygate, which resulted in severe fines against coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and the forfeiture of New England's first-round draft choice after the confiscation of tapes during the opening game of the season against the New York Jets.

WR Lloyd signs with Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd signed a one- year contract with the Chicago Bears and inadvertently stirred a quarterback controversy.

"Rex Grossman is the starter," Lloyd said during a conference call.

Well, not exactly.

The Bears have said that Grossman and Kyle Orton will compete for the starting job next season, and Lloyd apparently jumped to a premature conclusion. When asked who told him Grossman would start, the receiver backpedaled.

"That's what I'm assuming," said Lloyd, who was released after two disappointing seasons in Washington. "That's what ..."

His voice trailed off. Then, he said, "Orton and Grossman signed one-year deals. I figured Grossman was the starter. Open competition is what I'm being told right now."

Around the league

-The Carolina Panthers came to terms with linebacker Landon Johnson on a three-year, $10 million deal.

Johnson spent the past four seasons in Cincinnati, where he started at all three linebacker spots in the same 4-3 defensive scheme the Panthers use. Johnson racked up 112 and 109 tackles in the past two years and could unseat Na'il Diggs as Carolina's starter at outside linebacker.

-The New Orleans Saints signed former Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan and re-signed tight end Billy Miller.

Morgan, 29, made the Pro Bowl after the 2004 season but was sidelined by serious injuries for most of the past two seasons before his release from Carolina.

-Former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Chuck Darby has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with the Detroit Lions.

-Washington kick returner Rock Cartwright agreed to a $3 million, three-year contract to return to the Redkins.

-Fresh off a successful Super Bowl, the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee has confirmed it will submit a bid for another NFL championship in 2012.