Two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin disclosed his wife of 54 years, Judy, has an incurable brain disorder.
Coughlin, known for being a tough leader of his teams, wrote in a touching New York Times guest essay published Tuesday that he is now the full-time caregiver for Judy, who was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2020. He said he decided to share the personal news after deciding that what he and his family are going through could help others in similar situations.
“Our hearts are broken,” wrote Coughlin, who turns 75 next week. “Judy has been everything to our family. For the past four years, we’ve helplessly watched her go from a gracious woman with a gift for conversation, hugging all the people she met and making them feel they were the most important person in the room, to losing almost all ability to speak and move.”
He said despite being in high-pressure professional situations as he led the Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars on the field over 20 seasons, and later in a front office role with the Jags, he wasn’t prepared to care for his wife.
“I am not seeking sympathy. It’s the last thing I want. It’s the last thing that most caregivers want,” he wrote. “Taking care of Judy is a promise I made 54 years ago when she was crazy enough to say ‘I do.’
“I do want the players I coached in college and in the NFL who thought all my crazy ideas about discipline, commitment and accountability ended when they left the field to know that is not the case. The truth is that is when those qualities matter most. A friend said we don’t get to choose our sunset, and that’s true, but I am so blessed to get to hold Judy’s hand through hers.”
The Coughlins are parents of four.
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–Field Level Media