Tiki Barber might still be in uniform for the New York Giants if the team had fired Tom Coughlin, the "TODAY" commentator said in his new book, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Barber retired from the NFL after last season and now works for NBC's "TODAY" and "Sunday Night Football."

The New York Daily News obtained excerpts of Barber's new book, "Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond."

"If Tom Coughlin had not remained as head coach of the Giants, I might still be in a Giants uniform," Barber wrote, the Daily News reported.

"(Coughlin) robbed me of what had been one of the most important things I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football," Barber wrote, the newspaper reported. "I had lost that. He had taken it away."

Coughlin declined comment Tuesday.

On a radio show Tuesday night, Barber seemed to back off some of his comments that were portrayed in the Daily News.

"The Daily News had a front page article ... saying that the reason I left the New York Giants was because of Tom Coughlin," Barber said on the radio show. "Which, if you've listened to this show at all, you know is blatantly false. Of course, he played into the factors a little bit but I did not leave because of Tom Coughlin ..."

Barber has steadily made news since leaving the NFL, most recently accusing Giants quarterback Eli Manning of not showing enough leadership.

Barber, 31, did credit Coughlin for helping him fix his fumbling problem, the Daily News reported. But he also feels he helped his coach, the newspaper reported.

"It's a double-edged sword, because as much as Coach Coughlin helped me, I also helped Tom Coughlin," Barber wrote, the newspaper reported.

Barber also defended his decision to walk away from the game, said the Giants underpaid him by about $10 million over his career (compared to other top running backs) and thinks the team should have won more Super Bowls but couldn't keep top talent, the newspaper reported.

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