Demotion paves path of success for Warner, Giants

Little did Tom Coughlin know that the decision he was about to make on Nov. 15, 2004, would have such a monumental impact.

The New York Giants coach just wanted to win a football game. New York had lost two straight games and was 5-4.

So the morning after quarterback Kurt Warner was sacked six times in the Giants' 17-14 loss to the Cardinals, he made the switch.

Warner was out. Rookie Eli Manning was in.

Five years later, look at what Coughlin's judgment wrought:

The Giants won a Super Bowl.

Warner is enjoying a career renaissance with the Cardinals.

Arizona is 7-3 and about to win its first division title since 1975.

Oh, and Coughlin probably saved his job, too.

"Obviously, it's paid huge dividends for them," Warner said.

The Cardinals aren't complaining, either.

With the Giants coming to town Sunday, the Manning-Warner saga is on the front pages again. On Monday, Manning told New York-area reporters that he doesn't have a personal relationship with Warner.

"If I see him, I will talk to him, but no relationship besides that," he said.

It's not that Warner and Manning don't get along. Time and distance simply have made them more strangers than friends.

But there is a mutual respect between the two, for what they have accomplished and how they handled themselves after Coughlin's decision.

Warner was not happy about the demotion. Even now, after five years, he makes a case for himself.

"It was one of those situations where you feel life isn't fair," he said. "You feel you're the best guy for the job, and I think most people there would probably admit that I was the better quarterback at the time."

But Warner never let the disappointment color his behavior. He didn't pout, become bitter or take his frustration out on Manning. He wasn't going to let a quarterback controversy tear apart the Giants' locker room.

"He was very helpful to me," Manning said. "Because of the way he acted, he made it easier on me."

To do otherwise would be a betrayal of everything Warner believes in. And he knew the ravenous New York media was just waiting for his hypocritical moment.

"I think people were looking probably even more so with my situation because of how vocal I am with my faith and what I believe in and the character I've always tried to live my life with," Warner said. "I'm sure people were looking to see if there was a chink in that armor."

There wasn't.

"The way he accepted it, the way he stood tall, the way he supported the young quarterback and continued to work with him was a class act," Coughlin said. "He was tremendous."

Part of the reason Warner accepted the demotion - even if he didn't agree with it - was the way Coughlin handled himself.

The story wasn't leaked to the media. Warner didn't find out through back channels. Coughlin called Warner into his office, looked him in the eye and explained why he was making the switch.

"Even though it wasn't something I wanted to hear, he told me like a man, treated me like a man, and I always tell people I'll go to war with a man like that any day of the week," Warner said. "We talk all the time and are real good friends."

There was no way Coughlin could know at the time, but it never would have worked out between Warner and the Giants. New York is a run-first football team, and Warner is at his best when he's throwing the ball all over the yard. It's unlikely Coughlin ever would have given him the freedom he has playing for Ken Whisenhunt.

It's funny. When Warner was demoted, there was talk his career was over. Now here he is, five years later, a front-runner for his third MVP award.

And he has Coughlin to thank for it.

Scott Bordow is a sports columnist for the East Valley Tribune, the Daily News-Sun's sister newspaper in Mesa. He may be reached at 480-898-6598 or via e-mail at sbordow@evtrib.com.