TAMPA — Ask the Giants about their defensive coordinator John Fox and you get a portrait of an intense competitor, whose emotions on game day can go from aggressive to seemingly out of control. But it’s an intensity the players have learned to feed-off of, a reason they’ve reached Super Bowl XXXV where they’ll play the AFC Champion Ravens tonight.
“He’s like a yo-yo,” cornerback Jason Sehorn said of Fox. “Sometimes he’s calm and sometimes he’s out of control. Even when he’s out of control, he’s still in control. You can see the switch turn on when he gets more intense and when we’re not doing exactly what he’d like us to be doing. It’s fun to watch because you feed off that energy. When he starts to get fired up. We get fired up.”
The Giants defense has been overshadowed by the Ravens record-setting defense during Super Bowl week, but they are a confident group, a reflection of Fox, who told his team before the NFC Championship Game against the Vikings that it could post a shutout. While the Giants 41-0 victory shocked much of the football world, it didn’t shock the Giants.
“Every single game we play, coach Fox comes in and outlines what we’re going to do and what he believes we can do and how we’re going to go about doing it,” Sehorn said. “Against the Vikings, he came in and basically tried to build confidence within and talked about how we matched up perfectly with the Vikings and we were going to exploit weaknesses that they had with our strengths.
“That’s what we’ve done all season,” Sehorn added. “He’s a mastermind at finding the weak link. He always tells us, ‘Don’t be the weak link’ because each team is only as strong as their weak link. He does a good job of finding it and exploiting it. It’s one thing to know where it is. It’s another to take advantage of it and exploit it.”
Defensive lineman Keith Hamilton said of Fox, “He’s a confident man. He feels like when he puts that game plan together, if we go out and execute we’ve got a chance to beat anybody.”
While Fox might be intense on the sidelines, he insists his players stay on an even keel understanding the highs and lows that develop during a game are unpredictable.
“He always tells us to keep our composure,” said safety Sam Garnes. “There’s going to be some good things happen and bad things happen at times. He doesn’t want us to get too hyped. If we make mistakes and start getting mad, he’ll get on our case.
“We know if we carry out the way he puts the gameplan together, good things usually happen for us,” Garnes added “We’re a tight-knit group and we’ve got 11 people out there playing unselfish football. Nobody wants to let the other people down and that goes a long way for us.”
Hamilton is enjoying his best season with the Giants and credits Fox and defensive line coach Denny Marcin for giving him room to develop.
“He just allows Keith to be Keith,” Hamilton said. “I’m the kind of guy you either love me or hate me. They just let me be me. Along with that you’ve got to produce. This game is all about production. When they came in, they didn’t try to change a whole lot of things about me. They just said, ‘We need more production out of you.’ “
Fox recruited Giants linebacker Micheal Barrow out of high school when Fox was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Pittsburgh. “I liked him then and I like him now,” Barrow said. “I’m glad our paths have crossed again.”
What Barrow likes most is that Fox thrives on an aggressive brand of football.
“He’s intense and fiery,” Barrow said. “He doesn’t have too much patience at all. But it’s amazing. If an offense does something to get a play on us, he’s taking the gloves off. What I mean by taking the gloves off is he’s bringing the house. He’s not one of those conservative, laid-back coaches. He’s very aggressive.”
He’s also the type of coach that listens to his players. “He’ll listen to whatever insight you have,” Barrow said. “There are times, I’ll say, ‘Coach, we need to take the gloves off and blitz right now.’ And he’ll listen. But he holds you accountable for your suggestions.”
His players are well aware that Fox will be interviewing for the head-coaching job at Buffalo after the Super Bowl. It’s with mixed emotions that they offer their support.
“We heard the rumors he might get the Bills job,” Barrow said. “I feel a little slighted, like a recruit that signed and the coach said, ‘I’ll be here until you graduate,’ and now he’s about leave. But he deserves it. Like I said, I’m glad our paths have crossed again.”