EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — With an 0-6 record, Tom Coughlin is considering a lot of things to make the New York Giants better.

Changing quarterbacks isn’t one.

Coughlin dismissed any possible speculation about replacing Eli Manning for Monday night’s game against the Vikings (1-4), saying that the 10-year veteran and two-time Super Bowl MVP is the leader of the Giants offense.

“He’s the guy,” Coughlin said Thursday. “We’re going to win again with Eli.”

The 67-year-old Coughlin was so caught off guard on Wednesday when he was asked about benching the struggling Manning in a conference call with the Minnesota media that he asked for the question to be repeated. He backed Manning on Wednesday and his view was the same Thursday, adding he hadn’t even thought about giving Manning a quarter off to watch either Curtis Painter or rookie Ryan Nassib run the team.

“We talk about some of the issues, some of the problems that we’ve had and how we can handle that going forward and usually it’s a pat on the back and let’s see if we can change this around,” Coughlin said.

Manning seemed surprised when asked about his status. He said he is working to correct his mistakes and hoping to make the plays to get the team its first win. This has been a horrible season for Manning. Eight of his league-high 15 interceptions have come in the fourth quarter. Manning is third from the bottom in quarterback ratings (64.0).