On WFAN: Giants' Coughlin Explains 'Burn The Boats' Mantra
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin knows what to do with last season's 7-9 record. Let it burn, baby!
This year is all about pressing forward, which was the idea behind Coughlin's new mantra for his players at training camp: "Burn the boats."
Anyone have a match?
"When you were in high school, you probably heard this one," Coughlin said Wednesday on WFAN's Boomer & Carton show. "When the Greek warriors attacked another nation, and they came by boat, the first thing the commanders did was say, 'OK, burn the boats.' And the idea stuck right away with them. They got it. 'OK, listen, the only way we're gonna get out of here ... is to conquer the other group and take their boats.' And that's the whole thing.
"The idea is, there's no turning back."
MORE: BOOMER & CARTON AT GIANTS CAMP
The 67-year-old said one of the main objectives in camp is to develop his team's mentality. And that'll be key after a brutal 0-6 start in 2013, which was followed up by a major re-tooling in free agency.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul told Boomer & Carton that Coughlin used a visual aid to drive his point home.
"I think it gets the guys motivated," Pierre-Paul said of Coughlin's annual mantras. "He put a picture up there. It was like some Spartan dude or whatever."
More from Coughlin:
-- On missing the playoffs in four of the past five years: "We have to win. We have to win in this business. ... That's what this thing is all about. Our fans deserve it, and we're trying as hard as we can."
-- How does he spend his offseason? "What offseason?"
-- On Ben McAdoo's offensive system: "I really like the way it's energized us. Eli (Manning) is back with some bounce in his step. You can look in his eyes -- he's always been a great studier -- you see that there's new things to conquer."
Tom Coughlin
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