Former Teammates At Opposites Ends Of The Spectrum

The decade of the 2000’s saw the New York Giants as a solid National Football League franchise. The Giants made a pair of Super Bowl appearances and won it all to cap off the 2007 NFL season. Two players that defined this era of Giants football were running back Tiki Barber and defensive end Michael Strahan. Strahan was the Giants second round pick in 1993 while Barber was selected in the second round by New York in 1997. Both Strahan and Barber were afterthoughts upon their initial arrival to the Giants. But when Barber and Strahan’s playing careers were over, they each found themselves a special spot in the franchise history of the Giants as Barber was the team’s all-time leading rusher with 10,449 yards, and Strahan was their all-time leader in sacks with 141.5. However since Barber and Strahan were last teammates in 2006, things have gone very differently for each of them.

Midway through the 2006 National Football League season, Barber announced that he would retire at the end of the campaign. Although that Barber had made up mind long before he went public with his decision, it was still odd being that he was on the verge of his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard rushing campaign at the age of 31. Barber would gain 1,662 yards rushing that year as he helped the Giants reach the postseason. And in the playoffs, Barber would gain 137 yards on the ground in his final game as the Giants fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 23-20.

Barber appeared ready to have the perfect segue to the next chapter in his life as he was set to become a news correspondent at NBC. But at NBC, Barber was simply known for putting his foot in his mouth.

Just prior to the start of the 2007 National Football League season, Barber criticized Giants quarterback Eli Manning calling it “comical” when the young quarterback attempted to motivate the team. Manning would respond to Barber’s criticism who he called out for putting his own selfishness in front of the team’s success when he announced his retirement mid-season. During Barber’s time with the Giants, he was not a fan of head coach Tom Coughlin and his coaching style. This was in spite of the fact that Barber had his best three years in the NFL under Coughlin who had made him focus more on ball security after he was once a notorious fumbler.

Barber’s disdain for Coughlin was front and center following the Giants 23-0 home loss to the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 NFC Wild Card Game when he immediately began his post game news conference by saying that the team was “out coached”.

And it would be ironic that in Barber’s first year of retirement from the National Football League, he had to sit by and watch the Giants win the Super Bowl with the head coach in Coughlin, along with the quarterback in Manning that he had reservations about as the only thing that he was able to do was to eat a huge slice of humble pie, while another former teammate in Strahan was along for the ride to the championship.

Like Barber, Strahan had seen many ups and downs during his time with the Giants. When Strahan walked into the Giants locker room for the first time in 1993, he stepped into a room that had legends such as Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms who had won Super Bowls with the organization. Strahan would carve out his on niche with the Giants and by 1997, he made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career as he registered 14 sacks. Strahan would be an integral part of the Giants winning the NFC Championship in 2000, and he would follow this up in 2001 by setting a single-season National Football League record with 22.5 sacks. Strahan would then seek a new contract from the Giants that would cause a tense standoff between he and the organization.

However Barber would publicly criticize Strahan for his holdout and labeled him as “selfish”. Strahan would immediately confront Barber on the issue as it is commonplace in the National Football League for players to not interject in another player’s contract situation. Cooler heads would prevail and Strahan would return to the Giants.

Like Barber, Strahan didn’t see eye-to-eye with Coughlin when he became the Giants head coach in 2004. And just like Barber, Strahan pondered retiring after the 2006 National Football League season. Instead of showing up to training camp in 2007, Strahan spent his time on the beaches of Southern California before returning to the Giants just prior to the start of the NFL season. Strahan was more than happy to pay the $1 million that was levied on him by the Giants as he entered the season rested and refreshed. Strahan’s new state of mind would pay dividends for the Giants when they pulled off an upset of the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42. But while Barber was left to eat crow, Strahan pushed his ego aside and bought into what Coughlin was selling, and because of that he became a champion.

Super Bowl 42 would be Strahan’s last time in a Giants uniform, but he would do more than just merely ride off into the sunset. Strahan became a hot commodity in the entertainment business. In 2008, Strahan was added to FOX’s pregame show for their coverage of the National Football League. In 2009, Strahan appeared for 13 episodes alongside Carl Weathers and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell in the sitcom “Brothers”. In 2012, Strahan would take over full-time for Regis Philbin on “Live” as it became “Live With Kelly And Michael”. Strahan would leave the show this past April to work full-time on Good Morning America. Strahan has also been a spokesperson for such products as Vasaline Men and Subway sandwiches. Strahan has become a household name and isn’t it ironic that he’s done everything after football that Barber wanted to do?

During Barber’s time with the Giants, he was never one of “the guys” as to this day, you’ve never heard one of his former teammates speak of him positively. Barber threw coaches and teammates alike under the bus which wasn’t going to win over the locker room. Strahan went on to become one of the most vaunted leaders in the history of the Giants which was on full display when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 as many of his former teammates and coaches were in attendance.

Barber has gone on to promote his brand which includes writing several children’s books with his brother Ronde, while co-founding the website thuzio.com which helps athletes to be booked for speaking engagements and personal events. Barber also co-hosts a morning radio show with Brandon Tierney, but he’s relatively quiet to the public spotlight unlike Strahan which is the result of his penchant to tick those off around him.

After Barber’s playing days were over, he criticized the Giants organization about them not appreciating his value as a premier running back. Barber burned bridges within the organization that he was no longer welcome to MetLife Stadium with open arms which is not the way that it’s supposed to go for the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. Strahan on the other hand has a ton of joy and admiration from the within the Giants organization along with their fan base as he has become the best thing since sliced bread.

Barber and Strahan each took different roads to the National Football League as Strahan was the “military brat” from tiny Texas Southern University, while Barber was on television regularly during his collegiate days at the University of Virginia. And whereas Barber always wanted to be welcomed and loved by New York City as he tried to hard for the spotlight, it came naturally to Strahan who in 2016 is more known for what he has done on morning television that what he did for 15 years on the gridiron in the National Football League.