Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Giants co-owner John Mara said Sunday that Tom Coughlin will be back as coach of the New York Giants next season.

“I believe in the guy. I believe in stability,” said Mara. “The players play hard for him.”

As to whether Coughlin will be offered a contract extension beyond 2011, Mara said: “That’s a discussion for a later date.”

Mara was adamant in sticking with Coughlin, who finished the season with a 10th victory but out of the playoffs for the second straight year. He said there was never any doubt that the head coach would return.

“I’m obviously disappointed we didn’t make the playoffs but that doesn’t mean you blow the whole thing up,” Mara said. “I think we have a good, solid organization and there are some things we can improve on but he’s still the guy that we want as our head coach.”

The team president and CEO met with Coughlin during the middle of the week to encourage Coughlin and tell the head coach that ownership supported him. Mara had a defiant tone when commenting about the speculation surrounding Coughlin’s job security.

“I’m proud of how the players battled through the injuries,” Mara said. “I think that is a testament to the coach. In this society, everybody wants to fire the coach all the time. The Yankees get knocked off in the playoffs, everybody wants to fire the manager. Well, we don’t do that here.”

“He’s going to be our coach,” Mara continued. “Because I believe in the guy, I believe in stability, you can’t build anything if you are constantly making changes and firing people. That is not our culture and it is just not what we believe in. We know this guy is a good coach and we want him to lead us into next season.”

Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com.