Gilbride to test reputation against pass-happy Pats

PHOENIX -- For a long time the label followed him around like a bad reputation does a college coed.

Kevin Gilbride was that Run-and-Shoot coach. It was a wide-open offense that Gilbride helped spread in the NFL, one he ran as the Houston Oilers' offensive coordinator in the early 1990s when Warren Moon put up enormous passing numbers.

Gilbride has helped make Eli Manning and the Giants offense dangerous. (Getty Images)

It was an offense that may have been before its time, which led to as much scrutiny for the men that ran it as any other offense in league history. The premise was simple: Spread the field with four receivers and throw the football.

Can't work, they said. Won't work, they cried. And Gilbride, as the most successful coordinator of that offense, took a lot of the heat.

It hasn't stopped. Mention Gilbride's name to most NFL observers and two things come to mind: He's the guy Buddy Ryan punched and he's also the coordinator who likes to pass the ball too much.

Right or wrong, that's his reputation. Even as coordinator of the resurgent New York Giants offense as they get ready to play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII Sunday, Gilbride is still a bit haunted by the Run-and-Shoot offense.

"It's always been interesting, let's use that term, to see how people try and define what you're doing," Gilbride said. "I've always done what the head coach was doing. From Jerry Glanville to Jack Pardee to Tom Coughlin. Wherever I've been I've been part of good football teams. And we've had some success offensively.

"Those days in the Run-and-Shoot, I'm very proud off. We were very successful. We were one or two in the league every year and we went to the playoffs every year. We had some great players and it was a system that fit those players very well. I'm very proud of the things we did."

The irony of all that Run-and-Shoot scrutiny is that the Giants face a team in the Patriots this week that is essentially running that offense. The Patriots use a lot of four-receiver sets on early downs, a staple of the Run-and-Shoot.

The reality is that many teams employ the Run-and-Shoot principles now, which makes Gilbride happy.

"It's permeated the league, at least the approach and the formations," he said. "And nobody is more reflective of that than the team we're going to play. In that sense, you kind of smile, maybe that's been one of the contributions you made to the league."

Gilbride has worked wonders with the Giants offense this season. After a heap of criticism aimed at his quarterback, he helped Eli Manning become a mistake-free passer in three playoff games. Gilbride's play calling in the NFC Championship Game victory over Green Bay was spot on. With temperatures below zero, he didn't go into the game without thinking about the pass, as some might have expected. He threw to help set up the run.

Some things don't change.