FOXBOROUGH, MASS. – During the buildup to Sunday's AFC Championship Game, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone received inspirational messages from first-graders, with a cover page drawn in marker and crayon.

"Dear Jags," it said. "Want to beat the Patriots? Here's how …"

Marrone showed off the folder to the media and chuckled, saying he welcomed all advice.

"It's hard to believe," Marrone said, "how so many people have an opinion on how to beat the New England Patriots, and no one's really done that."

Actually, one coach might have insight. He just happens to be a critical part of Jacksonville's front office. Tom Coughlin, who upset Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots in two Super Bowls with the Giants, rejoined the Jaguars 12 months ago as executive vice president of football operations.

Coughlin, 71, was the Jaguars coach when they entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1995 and led them to the AFC Championship Game in 1996 and 1999. Owner Shahid Khan convinced him to return in a non-coaching role one year after Coughlin's mutual parting with the Giants.

The Jaguars went 3-13 last year, so Khan fired coach Gus Bradley, replacing him with Marrone, who had been coaching Jacksonville's offensive line.

Once Coughlin returned, outsiders figured the focus and intensity throughout the organization would heighten. But some wondered how the relationships would work between Coughlin, Marrone and General Manager David Caldwell. From all accounts, it's been smooth, as Jacksonville went 10-6 to win the AFC South, then knocked off Buffalo 10-3 and Pittsburgh 45-42 to start the playoffs.

Coughlin and Marrone had familiarity as fellow Syracuse graduates. When Marrone was Syracuse's coach, he picked Coughlin's brain. And now?

"I talk to him more than I talk to my wife," Marrone said.

The Jaguars said Coughlin was unavailable for comment this week, because he feels the head coach should speak for the team.

Jacksonville's turnaround can be traced to two free-agent signings on defense — Pro Bowl defenders Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye — along with the development of quarterback Blake Bortles, running back Leonard Fournette and ultra-talented defensive back Jalen Ramsey.

Campbell and fellow defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue combined for 26 ½ sacks. With those two leading "Sacksonville's" pass rush, the Jaguars had the NFL's best pass defense (169.9 yards per game) and second-best scoring defense (16.8 points per game).

The Patriots, playing in their seventh consecutive AFC title game, opened the week as a 9 ½ point favorite. The line shrank to 7 ½ with Brady questionable after reportedly jamming his right thumb in Wednesday's practice, requiring stitches.

Patriots players sound genuinely impressed with what they've seen from Jacksonville on film. Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski both called the Jaguars "the best team we've played all year."

Pittsburgh might feel snubbed by those comments, but the Jaguars defeated the Steelers twice at Heinz Field, including a 30-9 rout in Week 5.

"We're going to have to play our best game of the year," Belichick said.

Belichick is 5-2 in Super Bowls but 0-2 when the matchup pitted him vs. Coughlin. The Giants were 12-point underdogs but spoiled New England's bid for a 19-0 season in Super Bowl XLII (the David Tyree helmet catch game) and knocked off the Patriots again four years later, with Eli Manning again earning MVP honors.

The history goes back three decades. Coughlin and Belichick worked together from 1988 to '90 as Giants assistant coaches under Bill Parcells. Belichick was the defensive coordinator, Coughlin the receivers coach.

"We had a lot more laughs and a lot more fun in that room than what outsiders might surmise in watching the press conferences," said Al Groh, the linebackers coach on those teams.

Groh said he doesn't know Marrone personally, but he's pretty sure the New York native would have fit right in on Parcells' staff.

"I think all of us who come out of that system would look at what he's doing with strong approval," Groh said.

Now, if Marrone can slay New England, as Coughlin did, the Jaguars will head to Minneapolis for their first Super Bowl.