If Tom Coughlin strikes you as the kind of taskmaster you wouldn’t want to work for, think about how Giants guard Chris Snee must feel: Snee is Coughlin’s son-in-law, which means that not only does he have to perform to Coughlin’s exacting standards during the work week, but he also doesn’t get any presents if he isn’t at least five minutes early to Christmas dinner.
Fortunately, Snee says Coughlin has started to mellow -- not that the grandfather of Snee’s children is always grandfatherly, but that he’s at least a little friendlier than he was earlier in his coaching career. Snee was asked today if Coughlin is warmer and fuzzier, and while he wasn’t prepared to go that far, he did say he has seen changes in his coach and father-in-law.
“Warmer? Fuzzier? I don’t know if I’d use those adjectives, but he’s lightened up a lot and we made reference to that four years ago when we were here,” Snee said. “How he kind of changed in that regard, getting to know players more, getting players to know the softer side of him, the side that family members see. He shows that but then again he still has his beliefs that he sticks to. That’s what makes him more successful.”
Snee said he and Coughlin have developed a close relationship, but there’s one thing Snee would like to do with his father-in-law that he didn’t do four years ago: Carry Coughlin on his shoulders after winning the Super Bowl.
“It’s eight years of having this relationship,” Snee said. “So we got it ironed out pretty good.”