A cynic might say he’d still be coughing up the football every other carry, too, but the Colonel can save that for his book. The following is from the New York Daily News’ Jonathan Lemire :

“If Tom Coughlin had not remained as head coach of the Giants, I might still be in a Giants uniform,” Barber wrote in his upcoming book “Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond,” excerpts of which were obtained by the Daily News.

“[Coughlin] robbed me of what had been one of the most important things I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football,” Barber wrote. “I had lost that. He had taken it away.”

“The fans normally only see me suited up on Sunday,” Barber wrote. “They never witness the agony of Monday morning, or all the muscle-straining workouts, the practices, the blood, the sweat, and tears it takes to walk out onto the field.

He wrote that fans who don’t witness the pain athletes go through can’t understand why so many sports figures quit. He said that by walking away, true-blue fans saw him as a heretic, while those who saw football as a war considered him a deserter. He also slams the Giants for underpaying him, claiming he made about half of what some of the NFL’s other top running backs made.

Barber says Big Blue shorted him about $10 million over his career.

Though this 240 page tome sounds absolutely riveting, I’m probably gonna hold out for the eventual made for TV movie. And here’s a free tip or two for Tiki and NBC — James Cromwell would be perfect for the part of Coughlin. And after the disaster that was “The Knights Of Prosperity”, the time is right for Donal Logue to make a triumphant return to the small screen, tackling the meaty role of Jeremy Shockey.