Tom Coughlin is beginning his book signing tour today and as part of his message in Earn the Right to Win is to gain as much control over your destiny as possible. In this day and age in sports (or any field), that’s asking a lot.

When it comes to retaining your core players such as WR Victor Cruz, even Coughlin has to concede that the task is a difficult one, even for an organization as focused as the Giants.

From Jenny Vrentas of the Star Ledger:

“I like to think that I can control everything, and that I can have something to do with making sure that something gets done that I think would be beneficial to everyone,” Coughlin said today, before a book signing at the Fifth Avenue Barnes and Noble. “And certainly I believe that about Victor. We want Victor to be a Giant until the end of his career, but obviously he and his people, his agents, they’ve got to make that call. It’s a little bit frustrating in that you’d like to have it done, that’s all.”

The coach would love to have the local product locked up, but as we keep telling you, NFLers really only get a shot at the big money once in their careers and Cruz’ reps will be looking to cash in. Last month CEO John Mara indicated the two sides were far apart. Negotiations will be ongoing until further notice.

The other thing to keep in mind is the Giants don’t have to do anything right now except place a first-round tender on Cruz and fend off all comers. Easily said…..