Post by Admin on Jan 4, 2016 20:25:03 GMT -4
Thanks for the wins but it was time for you to go........
Tom Coughlin is finished with the Giants after 12 seasons, but he may not be finished with football.
The Giants’ head coach announced his resignation on Monday, a day after the team wrapped up its third consecutive losing season. Coughlin said that he met with Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch and “informed them that it is in the best interest of the organization that I step down as head coach.”
He did not, however, make any mention of retiring from the NFL.
“I strongly believe the time is right for me and my family, and as I said, the Giants organization,” he said.
Coughlin, a former Giants wide receivers coach who was on Bill Parcells’s staff from 1988 to 1990, was hired as the team’s head coach in 2004 to oversee the rebirth of the organization with top draft pick Eli Manning. The Giants had finished 4-12 in 2003 under coach Jim Fassel, who had taken the team to the 2001 Super Bowl. Twelve seasons later, Coughlin and Manning have two Super Bowl rings.
Like Manning, though, Coughlin had plenty of ups and downs in New York, seemingly on the verge of being fired at the end of every non-Super Bowl season. Despite the two championships and three NFC East titles, he enjoyed only six winning seasons with the Giants, with his best regular-season record coming in 2008 (12-4). He also failed to win a single playoff game in any season other than the two Super Bowl years.
Coughlin’s reputation as a stern disciplinarian was well known around the NFL, and sometimes divided the men in his locker room. He demanded that his players arrive to meetings five minutes early, and even set all of the clocks at the Giants’ practice facility five minutes fast, to promote punctuality.
The most famous critic was defensive end Michael Strahan, who starred for the Giants from 1993 to 2007. In his autobiography, “Inside the Helmet,” the Hall of Famer recalled his dispute with Coughlin after he arrived three minutes early to a team meeting.
“Fine me for being three minutes early, we have a problem,” Strahan wrote. “Fine me for being late. If I deserve it, I’ll take my medicine like a man.”
Recent years have been especially hard on Coughlin, with injuries, poor in-game decision-making, and questionable drafting in the front office combining to produce three straight Giants losing seasons for the first time in 35 years. The team started 0-6 in 2013, suffered through a seven-game losing streak in 2014, and lost six of its final seven games in 2015. Since winning the Super Bowl after the 2011 campaign the Giants have gone 28-36, and fans have become accustomed to Coughlin’s familiar pose of consternation—arms outstretched, his bright red visage contorted in anguish.
“Obviously, the past three years have not been what any of us expect, and as head coach, I accept the responsibility for those seasons,” Coughlin said.
A Waterloo, N.Y., native and former Syracuse University football star, Coughlin finishes his career in New York with a regular-season record of 102-90 and a postseason record of 8-3. His 102 wins are second-most in Giants history behind Steve Owen (151).
Coughlin was also the first head coach in the history of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, guiding that franchise to a record of 68-60 from 1995 to 2002. His regular-season win total of 170 ranks 12th in NFL history, right behind Parcells’s total of 172.
“This is a not a sad occasion for me,” Coughlin said. “I have spent 15 years with this organization as an assistant and head coach and was fortunate to be part of three Super Bowl winning teams. A Lombardi Trophy every five years is an achievement in which we all take great pride.”
At 69 years old, Coughlin was the NFL’s oldest head coach this season, prompting speculation that he was ready to retire after another disappointing campaign with New York. But his remarks on Monday gave no indication that he intends to step away from coaching.
Manning didn’t know Coughlin’s fate when he spoke with his longtime coach earlier in the day. But, when asked about potentially losing the only NFL head coach he’s had, Manning’s voice began to quiver.
“The meeting today, just thinking that it could be the last one with Coach Coughlin up there was tough,” said the usually stoic Manning.
Other Giants players were still holding out hope that Coughlin and his assistants would be back in 2016.
“We love coach,” guard Geoff Schwartz said. “He’s a great motivator. Guys play hard for him. He’s prepared every week. He has the full support of everyone here.”
As far as Coughlin’s potential replacements, 38-year-old offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is a logical candidate, given the fact that the Giants ranked in the top 10 in offense in both of McAdoo’s seasons with the team.
—Alex Raskin contributed to this article.
