The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir on Fox’s coverage of Sunday’s Cowboys/Giants tilt, in the network zoomed in on New York coach Tom Coughlin a whopping 53 times.
Most of the Coughlin reaction shots showed him doing relatively little ” adjusting his cap or his headset; pacing; examining his game plan; standing stoically, usually with his arms akimbo, waiting for a penalty call.
But in 21 instances when events went against the Giants, the panoply of Coughlin™s facial and body responses was on display: he glared; he tilted, then shook his head; he waved his arms; he shouted; he turned his back to the camera and walked away; and he folded his arms tightly against his chest.
œI think my guys recognize that when the Giants don™t make a good play, we should look for Coughlin, Kempner said, referring to his camera crew.
Kempner places Coughlin™s emotional repertory on par with the contortions and gesticulations of Tampa Bay™s Jon Gruden, although Coughlin™s face has not been compared to that of a doll in a horror movie.
Joe Buck, who called the game for Fox, said yesterday that Coughlin™s reactions œare born out of frustration and the desire to win.
œI™m surprised that most head coaches hold it in as well as they do, Buck said. But does a coach™s high-strung reactions undermine the very discipline he preaches?
If Coughlin overreacted by smiling and leaping when things went well, Fox™s cameras did not show it. œWhen the Giants do something good, he gives you a little something, but it™s not the same, Kempner said.