EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants did not reach out to Al Groh for his opinion on defensive lineman Chris Canty. But had they, the Virginia coach and friend of Tom Coughlin would have given them the green light.

"He's a great kid, one of our favorites," Groh told Newsday Monday, the day after Canty signed a six-year, $42-million deal with the Giants. "He's very focused and committed to what his ambitions and goals are. He had a tremendous work ethic when he was here."

Groh said he wasn't surprised that the Giants didn't ask for his input. Playing against Canty twice a year while he was with the Cowboys, he said, was likely enough of a resume to entice the Giants. In those eight games, Canty had 24 tackles (17 solo) and 3.0 sacks, his highest totals against any opponent.

"That's a big factor," Coughlin said. "He has played some outstanding games against us. Our offensive linemen know the quality of the player. He is very talented and serious about his work."

Groh's stamp of approval, though, was implicit. Canty was drafted by the Cowboys and played under Bill Parcells. Both Groh and Coughlin come from the "Parcells coaching tree" and were together as assistants on the Giants for two years.

"There's a circle of coaches and we were all together in that building there," Groh said of the Giants' staff (he was a linebackers coach and a defensive coordinator for the Giants under Parcells from 1989-91 and worked with Parcells at New England and with the Jets). "We all tend to like the same type of guys. I'm sure Chris will find the way that Tom Coughlin runs things might have a little familiarity to the way he did things under Bill Parcells in Dallas and maybe even the way we did things down here."

Although Groh used Canty as a defensive end at Virginia in a 3-4 system, he moved inside and played over the guard when the Cavaliers went to a 4-3 look in some of their sub packages. That's the way he was used with the Cowboys. The Giants will invert that, however, and have said they expect to have Canty in the middle on first and second downs and perhaps slide him outside in some pass-rushing situations.

Groh doesn't think that will be a major change for Canty.

"We try to pay particular attention to guys who played for us and we remain interested in them when they go to the NFL," Groh said. "Whenever we had a chance to watch a Dallas game, we'd pay attention to Chris. I remember seeing him playing inside in their sub packages. I think he's had enough experience in there to have success."