Four wild-card losers face major offseason questions

	Both Giants quarterback Eli Manning and coach Tom Coughlin were heavily criticized in New York toward the end of the season. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Last week we reviewed the 20 teams that failed to make the playoffs and chronicled their impending offseason issues. Here's a look at the first-round playoff losers and the topics they face in 2007:

• New York Giants -- Nothing much going on in Giant-land. I mean, unless you consider the fate of head coach Tom Coughlin, the identity of the team's new general manager, finding a replacement for retiring running back Tiki Barber and fixing quarterback Eli Manning's faltering game significant.

First, the Coughlin question. After making it through Monday without losing his job, indications seem to point in the direction of him either getting a one-year contract extension, or being allowed to work the final year of his four-year deal. After all, being a lame duck is better than being a dead duck.

Despite the Giants' second-half collapse, team ownership doesn't appear to believe there are any must-have coaching candidates available this year, with Charlie Weis vowing to stay at Notre Dame, Bill Cowher set on taking a year off and Bill Belichick still locked up in New England. Giving Coughlin one more year may not be popular -- especially in his own locker room -- but it could wind up being prudent in the long run if it allows New York to land a proven winning coach in 2008.

As for the GM job, Patriots personnel executive Scott Pioli surprisingly said no thanks to an interview on Monday, and New York reportedly said no thanks to back channel overtures made by Bill Parcells regarding his interest in succeeding the retiring Ernie Accorsi. That's probably good news for the team's director of player personnel, Jerry Reese, who is considered to be in the pole position among the four already interviewed in-house candidates. Chris Mara, the team's VP of player evaluation and team president John Mara's younger brother, should not be discounted.

On the field, the Giants have plenty of cap room to maneuver this offseason, and only two significant potential free agents: starting center Shaun O'Hara and kicker Jay Feely. But finding at least a complementary running back to replace Barber and team with Brandon Jacobs is key, and figuring out how to get more out of Manning's game should not be overlooked. Coughlin's late-season demotion of offensive coordinator John Hufnagel, with quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride calling plays, might not be enough of a proactive move to jump-start Manning's development.