Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Tom Coughlin met with New York Giants owners before the season and promised dramatic changes. Last night, he delivered.

Led by Coughlin, the underdog Giants captured their first Super Bowl title in 18 years by upsetting the previously undefeated New England Patriots, the highest-scoring team in National Football League history, 17-14.

``The best part of it for me is that this group of young men, who came together and believed in themselves, bought the team concept completely, took the names off the back of their jerseys and checked their egos at the door,'' Coughlin said after the game. ``The reinforcement for the team is the greatest source of satisfaction for me.''

The championship comes after Coughlin, 61, sat down with Giants owners and promised changes in his approach to coaching. In 2006, New York became the eighth NFL team to reach the postseason after winning just half their regular-season games, and lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.

After the season, Giants owners John Mara and Jonathan Tisch met with their coach, whose contract was almost expired. Coughlin received a one-year extension and went to work, forming a player's leadership council to get more input from the team.

Both players and owners said Coughlin became more open and accessible to the team, improved communication and never went backward, even when the Giants started the season 0-2.

`It Worked'

``We met with him and we asked him to step it up and he did that,'' Tisch said in an interview after the game in Glendale, Arizona. ``I'm not in the locker room so I really have no clue what he did. Whatever it was, it worked.''

Giants players embraced the new Coughlin.

``He is smiling,'' Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan said in a news conference last week. ``He is using words like `fun' and `enjoyment' and it blows my mind every time he does.''

The Giants hired Coughlin in January 2004, shortly after the team's worst season in 20 years. The former New York assistant and Jacksonville coach had led the Jaguars to two American Football Conference Championship games and compiled a 72-64 record in eight years before getting fired for missing the playoffs three straight years.

Coughlin embraced discipline as the key to winning. In Jacksonville, he imposed a ban on beards and jewelry. In his first season with New York, he fined several players for not being at team meetings early enough.

His approach didn't always have the desired effect. New York recorded a team-record 143 penalties in 2005 and 101 in 2006.

Criticism of Coughlin

After a playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers in 2005, Pro Bowl running back Tiki Barber said the team had been outcoached. Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey said the same thing after a loss the next season. Barber wrote in a book that Coughlin's coaching methods helped drive him into retirement.

This season was different. The Giants lost their first two games before reeling off a league-record 10 straight road wins, including playoff wins at Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay. The Super Bowl gave them 11 wins away from home.

Before the game, Giants Chairman Steve Tisch, Jonathan's brother, said in an interview with the NFL Network that the team is working on a four-year contract extension for Coughlin.

Last night, Coughlin's defense held the highest-scoring offense in NFL history to a single touchdown until 2:42 left in the game. New England's Tom Brady, who threw a record 50 touchdown passes during the season, threw one in the Super Bowl. Giants defenders sacked Brady five times. Brady finished the game completing 29 of 48 passes for 266 yards.

Credit to Defense

Coughlin credited the defense with the victory, calling the Patriots' inability to score more points ``an incredible accomplishment for the team. Our defense played so well.''

After Brady threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to receiver Randy Moss, Coughlin orchestrated a 12-play, 83-yard drive. The Giants stalled on third down at their own 44-yard line before quarterback Eli Manning shrugged off a host of would-be tacklers and hit receiver David Tyree for a 32-yard pass. The drive ended in 13-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Plaxico Burress that won the game.

``These guys played with great heart,'' Coughlin said. ``They're tough-minded. They never say die. They just keep coming. We had to battle hard to get this thing. But I told them last night, `Other than family, the greatest feeling in the world is when all of a sudden you realize you're world champions.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Kuriloff in Glendale, Arizona, at akuriloff@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 4, 2008 03:47 EST