After 12 seasons with the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin is expected by many to resign on Monday following the team’s Week 17 battle against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Mike Garofolo of FOX Sports.
Garofolo, in an interview with Colin Cowherd, believes it’s inevitable that Coughlin will call it quits on Monday.
“This is a different Tom Coughlin and I think he’s ready to move away. A lot of people are talking as if it’s an inevitability that on Monday he is going to resign. I am hearing that from a lot of people,” Garafolo said.
Coughlin’s career in New York will best be remembered for two Super Bowl wins in 2007 and 2011, both coming against the New England Patriots. His first Super Bowl win also ended New England’s quest for a perfect season.
In total, Coughlin coached 191 games for Big Blue before Sunday’s game, and he’s won 102. Both marks trail only Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen in the franchise’s history. In total, the the Giants made the playoffs five times (2005-2008, 2011) under Coughlin’s watch, winning division championships in 2005, 2008, and 2011.
Coughlin also enjoyed success as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars before going to the Giants. He began coaching the Jaguars during their inaugural season of 1995 and stayed on through 2002.
While Coughlin was manning the Jacksonville sidelines, they reached the postseason four times (1996-1999) and won division titles in 1998 and 1999. The Jaguars got as far as the AFC Championship Game twice under Coughlin, losing 20-6 to the Patriots in 1996 and 33-14 to the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
Coughlin’s 68 wins in Jacksonville are tied with Jack Del Rio for the most in franchise history, while his 128 games coached trail only Del Rio’s mark of 139.
Given his overall resume, it would be very simple to make an argument that Tom Coughlin is a Hall of Fame-caliber coach. While Coughlin will be 70 by the time the 2016 season starts, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a desperate team hiring him to coach, assuming, of course that he wants to stay in the game.
Despite all that he’s done for the Giants and Jaguars before that, this decision is a positive one for New York.
The Giants have steadily regressed under Coughlin over the last four years. Since winning the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2011 season, the Giants have only recorded one winning campaign (9-7 in 2012) and have failed to make it back to the playoffs since then.