Howard Simmons/New York Daily News
NY Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is motivated to prove his critics wrong after losing campaign.
Tom Coughlin’s not going anywhere.
Let’s get that straight, once and for all. Somewhere along the path to the Giants’ first losing season since 2004, chatter began that the 67-year-old head coach might be on his way out, either by retirement or by the ax. But neither of those things is happening after this year.
While the window of opportunity is undoubtedly growing smaller for the NFL’s oldest head coach and the Giants are playoff-less for the fourth time in five years, Coughlin’s job still seems as secure as ever, and by the looks of things, he’s not ready to walk away from the game, either. Here’s why:
CONSISTENCY
Giants owner John Mara rarely makes change for change’s sake, but you could see where he might consider a new man. After all, the Giants are poised for change, with as many as 29 players – including cornerstones such as receiver Hakeem Nicks and defensive end Justin Tuck – headed for some brand of free agency this offseason, so a new coach could easily refashion the roster.
Thing is, Mara realizes exactly what he has in the steady, savvy Coughlin. For all this season’s struggles, the players still respect the man, and he still has those two Super Bowl trophies. He’s just two years removed from that improbable 2011 run, and he’s the only coach that Eli Manning has ever known.
Don’t underestimate that point, either. When things are humming, Manning knows longtime coordinator Kevin Gilbride’s offense well. Reprogramming a veteran quarterback isn’t always easy.
RESPECT
The Giants fell apart on the field this season, Coughlin never lost the trust of his locker room. There have been no leaks or dissension, and time and again, the players have blamed themselves – not their coach – for the losses.
Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News
Tom Coughlin and the Giants recover from 0-6 start to remain competitive down the stretch.
Coughlin’s message may be getting stale, especially on the field, where the Giants routinely committed foolish penalties in pivotal moments. But by and large, these Giants trust their old coach’s ideas of honor and duty and teamwork. If they didn’t, they would have easily splintered apart during the six-game losing streak, much like that other New York football team.
But Coughlin pushed his team to “stay the course,” and even after the playoffs were gone and there was no reason to actually stick it out, this injury-riddled bunch listened, a reminder of just how good a motivator Coughlin truly is.
Coughlin, meanwhile, has found his own renewed motivation, challenged by the perception that, after two playoff-less seasons, he’s fading.
“Probably even more, because there are a lot of those that are telling you that you didn’t do very well and you’re not a very good coach,” he said Tuesday. “And you’re not this, and you’re not that. So perhaps you have something to prove.”
PERSPECTIVE
The 0-6 start, the first losing campaign since 2004, and yet another playoff-less season are the easy strikes against Coughlin, but his accomplishments ever since then prove that he hasn’t really lost his coaching touch.
In retrospect, that early schedule was malicious; the Broncos, Panthers and Chiefs, the three teams that embarrassed Big Blue the most, have all clinched playoff berths and were simply too much for a Giants team with shattered offensive line and an injured top running back. It was all Coughlin could do to get his team to weather that storm.
But that’s exactly what the Giants have done, going 6-3 since then, with a very real shot at finishing the season with a somewhat respectable (yet disappointing) 7-9 record. They could easily finish just two games out of first in the NFC East, oh-so-close to the playoffs.
That’s a credit to Coughlin, a coach who deserves – and almost certainly will get – another chance.
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