FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 11th, 2015

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA FEATURES TONY DUNGY’S INTERVIEW WITH NEW YORK GIANTS HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN

“He’s been everything you could possibly want in a young man in terms of his virtues, his values, his ability to say exactly what’s on his mind.”- Tom Coughlin on Eli Manning

“We’re relevant. That’s as far as I’d go.” – Coughlin on the Giants’ position in the NFC East race

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 11, 2015 – For tonight’s Week 5 edition of NBC’s Football Night In America, the most-watched studio show in sports, Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy interviews New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. Football Night will also preview NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup between the 49ers and the Giants, and include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 5 games.

Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, with Bob Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, and NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn., and is joined by Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney HarrisonMike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN, and NFL insider Peter KingKathryn Tappen will report from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on the Patriots-Cowboys game.

INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Dungy’s interview with Coughlin. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in America.”

TOM COUGHLIN WITH TONY DUNGY

Coughlin on continuing to coach as long as it’s still fun: “It’s a lot of fun for me right now. It’s a lot more fun when we win, obviously. It’s the competitiveness, it’s the young people, it’s the players, it’s the organizational thing. There’s constant change and you better be able to keep up with that change.”

On coaching Eli Manning for over a decade: “It’s 12 years and God bless Ernie (Ernie Accorsi, New York Giants GM, 1998-2007). He made the call, and it was a hard one at that point in time because of the nature of the trade, but thank God for it. There’s a guy that’s been everything. Not only just as a football player for this franchise, but out in the world and out in the community. He’s been everything you could possibly want in a young man in terms of his virtues, his values, his ability to say exactly what’s on his mind. He’s very, very sharp. He’s very intelligent. He’s the type of guy  that the more difficult the challenge the better he responds.”

Coughlin on where he sees his team in the NFC East race: “We’re relevant. That’s as far as I’d go. What I do like is our energy, I like our effort. They’re a scrappy bunch. They have grit. That really gives us something to build on.”

Dungy: “So you’re having fun with this group?”

Coughlin: “I am having fun. Winning is a lot more fun than the other way, though.”

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA