Former Colts president Bill Polian remembers watching from the booth when Tom Coughlin made a similar decision to the one for which the Giants coach is getting skewered this week.

The Giants went for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the Saints’ 2-yard line. That was in the first quarter, not the fourth quarter like Coughlin’s call against the Jets, and it ended in an Eli Manning touchdown pass instead of a momentum-changing interception. But a month apart, the reasoning remains the same.

“My radio partner asked me why Coughlin is going for it, and I said, ‘Because he knows what kind of defense he has.’ He needs to get as many points as possible,” said Polian, now an analyst for Sirius XM and ESPN.

The Giants head into the weekend at 5-7, but in a three-way tie for first place in the putrid NFC East. Coughlin faces a four-game stretch — starting with a matchup with the Dolphins on Monday night — that is very likely to determine whether he will get a 13th season to coach the Giants.

“My first rule of thumb was: Is the head coach getting the most out of his staff? And are he and his staff getting the most out of the players that they have? If the answer to those are yes, then move on to what the second step is and what the problem actually is, because if that’s the case, then it’s not coaching,” said Polian, who spent 20 years running the Bills, Panthers and Colts and fired only one head coach — Jim Mora in 2001 in Indianapolis.

In Polian’s estimation, Coughlin is not at the root of the late-game meltdowns that have thwarted the Giants’ season at every turn.

“I think it’s very simple. Even now with Jason Pierre-Paul giving them some semblance of a pass rush, they have not been able to rush the passer in close games on defense, and offensively they have not been able to run the ball,” Polian said.

“With the lead, you have to control the ball and you have to do it largely on the ground, and with the injuries to the offensive line, they really don’t have anyone that can do that with any consistency. If you are going to finish, you have to have pass-rushers and someone who can tote the leather like [the Jets’] Chris Ivory, for example, can.”

Those issues — the futures of Coughlin and GM Jerry Reese, who put this suspect roster together — will be for the offseason. What lays ahead this month for these Giants is a chance to steal the division and the shot at another miraculous Super Bowl run that comes with it.

“I hope for their sake JPP will get better and be able to finish. You hope they can find a healthy offensive line, but who knows with Ereck Flowers’ status now?” Polian said,

“And I would echo Tom, and this goes back to the second Super Bowl under him. Someone asked what’s the secret to getting back on track, and he said, ‘All we have to do is win a football game.’ That’s exactly what it is. Find some way to win it.”