I don't know if he is a coward, but he is smart! He is also a lying A-hole without any integrity. And to make it worse he uses his kids to justify lies, decit, and lack of teamwork. If his kids are so important, why would he want to set that kind of example, and do it on camera so that his snake-like actions will live on forever for them to be ashamed of.
Anyway, he obviously picked the right victim....can't fault him for that. But lying to his teammates, and tricking them to work hard for him in the challenge was a biatch move.