A year ago at this time, there was no telling what would happen to Tom Coughlin. The Giants' coach had agreed to a one-year extension through 2008, but only because the Giants didn't want him going into the 2007 season as a lame duck.

What a difference a Super Bowl championship makes. Just weeks after pulling off one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, Coughlin has cashed in. His long-awaited contract extension is a done deal. An official announcement will be made Saturday on a four-year, $21-million contract.

The Giants tore up his old deal, and the new contract goes through the 2011 season. It could be Coughlin's last contract with the Giants; he'll be 65 in the final year of the deal.

The Giants did not comment and Coughlin was unavailable for comment. He is expected to discuss his contract Saturday.

Newsday reported that the parameters of the deal had been agreed to more than two weeks ago, and that the final year of his previous deal would be torn up and replaced by the current one. Coughlin and the Giants ironed out minor details the last several days.

Coughlin, hired by the Giants in 2004, is 35-29 in the regular season and 4-2 in the postseason. Coughlin has taken the Giants to the playoffs the last three seasons. The Giants went 10-6 in the 2007 regular season, 3-5 at home and 7-1 on the road.

After an opening-night loss in Dallas, the Giants never lost again on the road. Their 10 victories as visitors is an NFL single-season record. Coughlin's overall NFL record is 111-95 (103-89 regular season and 8-6 postseason).

Coughlin undertook a major transformation last year, vowing to be more approachable to his players. The change was noticeable from the opening of training camp, and players warmed to his kinder, gentler side. It helped that one of the coach's frequent critics, running back Tiki Barber, had retired in the offseason and had thus eliminated himself as a distraction.

One of Coughlin's signature moments last season was his calculated gamble to not rest his starters in the final regular-season game against the Patriots, even though the team did not have a bye week before their first playoff game. The move jump-started an unlikely playoff run; after beating the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers in the first three rounds, the Giants finished it off with a stirring 17-14 comeback win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

Coughlin said at the NFL scouting combine last month that he is already preparing for the team's Super Bowl defense.

“You have to be very vigilant in making sure that everything is done in accordance with what you believe in and that no stone is left unturned, even though you just got done playing,” he said.

He believes the Giants will have the right mental approach to defending their title.

“One of the things this team did very well was they continued to look forward,” he said. “They never sat and overanalyzed the last game. ... They always looked forward. And having something to prove is always something that we challenged them with. And the fact that we are Super Bowl champions is not going to change that.”