It took one day for the Giants to reveal their plan for replacing Osi Umenyiora: Strong side linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka moves back to his natural position on the line and takes Umenyiora’s place as the starting right end.
And as Tom Coughlin announced that logical move yesterday, members of the Giants upper management were contacting Michael Strahan, attempting to gauge his interest in ending what would be a very brief retirement, according to a team source.
Strahan, vacationing in Greece, retired June 9, saying he was done with football. During his visit to training camp in Albany he said, “I don’t miss it” when asked about not being in the game. He spoke excitedly about his new role with FOX Sports as an NFL studio analyst and is considered to be a potential star in the broadcast world.
But he also privately has said, prior to the injury to his good buddy Umenyiora, who today undergoes season-ending surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, he has “the itch” to return. The Giants know all this and their overtures to their former star is a sign they are not fully comfortable about moving forward without Umenyiora and with the players involved in the shuffle to replace him.
Last Monday night, Strahan was at Giants Stadium watching his former team play the Browns and appeared fit and trim and said he has lost weight because of a new workout regime featuring less heavy lifting and more aerobic conditioning. No doubt he’d have to bulk up if he came back for a 16th NFL season.
Is this all a pipe dream? Probably. But maybe not. Strahan may simply say thanks but no thanks. It is unlikely the organization would move Kiwanuka if they had plans to bring back Strahan, unless the role for Strahan is as a backup serving in a line rotation. Strahan plays left end and at age 36 would not be moving from side to side.
The Strahan buzz was in the air, to be sure, as Coughlin was peppered with questions not about Kiwanuka but about Strahan.
“There hasn’t been any discussion I have been involved with there,” Coughlin said. “We are going to explore every option that is available. The last time I talked with Michael he had accepted his new challenge and was very happy about that.”
General manager Jerry Reese has remained mum on the subject, but he did issue a statement that did not address Strahan at all.
“When you lose a player like Osi, that means everybody else has to step up their game,” Reese said. “Fortunately we have players, including Kiwi, who are capable of picking up that kind of slack. As always, we’ll continue to research all of our options.”
Finally, Coughlin had enough. Asked if he wanted Strahan back, he demanded, “Don’t ask me any more questions about that” and then bluntly warned “Don’t be a smart-aleck” when he was asked if as the head coach it was his job to state whether or not he wanted Strahan.
Before he retired, Strahan was scheduled to make $4 million in salary for the 2008 season.