byJohn Schmeelk,Dan Salomone&Matt Citak

The 2025 roster boasts some impactful tandems, but what is the best duo in Giants history? We tackled the question in this week's Cover 3 on Giants.com.

John Schmeelk:My beginning criteria here are that the duo had to be on the same team in closely related roles that were critical to multiple championships, and at least one must be a Hall of Famer (preferred) or at the very least both need to be Ring of Honor members. This removed Michael Strahan from the equation since he won one Super Bowl, and no other pass rusher from that era was a Hall of Famer. Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora were in consideration. Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks formed a great duo, but it was short-lived and only led to one Super Bowl. A David Diehl/Kareem McKenzie/Chris Snee combination of some kind was a possibility, but none of those players were Hall of Famers and only Snee is in the Ring of Honor.

I'm going to turn back the clock to the duo that was the driving force of the defense in the Giants' first two Super Bowls: Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks. Taylor is a Hall of Famer and Banks is not only in the Ring of Honor, but was also a member of the All-Decade team for the 1980s. Banks and Taylor combined for over 180 sacks, but what makes them the franchise's all-time best duo is how they complemented each other.

Banks' discipline and ability to fulfill all his responsibilities in the run game and in coverage allowed Taylor to get after the quarterback and redefine the outside linebacker position into the "edge rusher" position we talk about today in odd-man fronts. They helped form some of the best linebacker groups in NFL history and their consistency every year helped the Giants' defense always show up near the top of the NFL rankings.

Dan Salomone:We all know it's not about the Xs and Os; it's about the Jimmys and Joes. But when those Xs and Os are drawn up by Vinces and Toms, it must also be a little bit about the coaches.

From top to bottom, whether they wore suits or pads, you can throw two darts at the 1956 New York Giants and not come up with a bad answer here. One duo, however, stands above the rest. Imagine having Vince Lombardi as your offensive coordinator and Tom Landy running your defense. Now picture them coaching Andy Robustelli, Sam Huff, Frank Gifford, Roosevelt Brown, Charlie Conerly, Rosey Grier, Kyle Rote, Emlen Tunnell, Alex Webster and the list goes on.

It's no surprise that they went on to score a conference-best 264 points while the game-defining 4-3 defense became so good, and so popular, the Giants began to introduce the unit instead of the offense prior to games, a practice unheard of at the time.

Lombardi and Landry, of course, went on to become legendary head coaches but not with the Giants.

"I can remember saying to my father, 'Why couldn't you have just kept one of them?'" Giants president John Mara said in the documentary "The Duke" about his father, Wellington Mara. "I would have had a much happier childhood if he had just kept one of those two."

Matt Citak:The franchise has had some amazing duos over the last 100 years, especially on the defensive side of the ball, which made it tough to narrow it down to a single pair of Giants. I almost went with Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck here, as the two edge rushers were big factors in the team's dominant pass rush for nearly a decade. Instead, I'm going to go with a pair that played monumental roles in the franchise's two most recent championship runs. It might be a slightly unorthodox answer, but for me, the best duo in New York Giants history has to be Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning.

Coughlin was hired as head coach in January of 2004. Three months later, the Giants pulled off what ended up being the biggest trade in franchise history with the acquisition of Manning, the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. After sitting for nearly half of his rookie campaign, Manning was named the starting quarterback heading into Week 11 and never looked back. The head coach and quarterback combined for 105 total victories, 97 during the regular season and eight in the postseason, including wins over Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in both Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. The first victory over the Patriots was perhaps the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, as the Giants, a Wild Card team, prevented New England from completing the first 19-0 season in NFL history.

Of course, there were plenty of other people that played big roles in those two Super Bowls, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But the importance of Coughlin's decision to play his starters in a "meaningless" regular-season finale against the 15-0 Patriots cannot be understated. While the Giants lost that game in a back-and-forth nail-biter, it gave the team the confidence it needed heading into the rematch in the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Manning put together two very strong postseason runs, including one of the all-time greatest playoff performances by a quarterback. Manning threw for 1,219 passing yards in the 2011 playoffs, which still stands as the most passing yards ever in a single postseason, with nine touchdowns (two off the all-time record) and just one interception.

Coughlin ranks second in franchise history with his 110 total wins as head coach, while Manning's 125 total victories are the most among any Giants quarterback. It's difficult to discuss one's success without mentioning the other, which makes Coughlin and Manning the best duo in Giants history.

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