Niel Best

[Lughead]

Coughlin's act should hit road

 

Tom Coughlin's tour of duty with the Giants peaked Jan. 7, 2004, when he presided over one of the great introductory news conferences in the long, mostly tedious history of the genre.

 

It was nearly as impressive as the famous opening scene of "Patton," Coughlin's favorite flick, in which the general addresses and exhorts his troops -- but Coughlin got across his points without cursing.

 

The old-school coach was so compelling, he even helped prod a jaded old newspaper beat writer to come back for one more season to see what post-Jim Fassel life would be like.

 

Well, now we know.

 

Mostly, Coughlin's promises have not been kept, from magically curing the "cancer" of injuries, which he considered "a mental thing," to instilling discipline and "restoring Giants pride" to, well, winning one playoff game would have been a nice touch, come to think of it.

 

Coughlin hasn't won one of those in this millennium. Eli Manning was a redshirt freshman at Ole Miss when Coughlin's Jaguars beat the Dolphins, 62-7, on Jan. 15, 2000.

 

Since then, Fassel has two playoff victories and a Super Bowl berth in four seasons; Coughlin has none and none in six seasons, pending the Giants' pathetic bid to sneak into the playoffs this weekend.

 

No, the point is not that Fassel was a better coach than Coughlin. The guy did lead the team to a division title amid the heartache and distraction of having both co-owners die during last season. And he seems to be a smart man who means well, in his own peculiar way.

 

The point here is that Coughlin -- like many of his players -- talked a good game but hasn't delivered, and in retrospect was an ill fit for a team full of big names and high-maintenance personalities, several of them holdovers from the culture of Camp Fassel.

 

Three years ago, Coughlin spoke of the "restoration of our professionalism and the dignity with which we conduct our business." Of instilling discipline, he said it "is as vital to an athlete as the air he breathes." And on penalties: "You can't shoot yourself in the foot and expect to win the 100-meter dash."

 

The disconnect from all that seemed apparent during and after tackle Bob Whitfield's second personal foul Sunday and third this month.

 

Coughlin understandably was livid and appeared to walk away from Whitfield as the player came off the field. What more was there to say? Finally, he turned around and did say something to Whitfield, who kept walking. Later, Whitfield spoke more of the Saints' provocations than his own actions.

 

Maybe Coughlin's style would have worked with a low-profile team such as the Jets, as it did with his expansion Jaguars in the mid-1990s. Who knows? Perhaps the Giants should have been more open-minded about their options before making this match made for divorce court.

 

Young and unproven sometimes works. The Bears' Lovie Smith, then 45, interviewed with the Giants before they hired Coughlin. And the top two Coach of the Year candidates this year are the Saints' Sean Payton, 42, and the Jets' Eric Mangini, 35, neither of whom was an NFL head coach before.

 

Reporters don't know all that goes on, but given the amount of time they spend around a coach, it is not difficult to get a sense of him personally, and that often matches how players view him.

 

The players see what we see, and what you see: an earnest but cartoonish cliche who never endeared himself to this group, from that first spring when players turned him in for offseason violations through Sunday's throw-in-the-towel debacle.

 

Fassel built up plenty of good will and probably stayed too long in part because of it. Coughlin has built up none and his term might be cut short in part because of it, strange and even unfair as that might seem if he makes the playoffs for a second year in a row.

 

So be it.

 

John Mara honors his father by conducting himself with class and fairness. He also would honor him by doing what is in the best interests of the team and the fans, even if that means not showing the patience for which the franchise is known.

 

Time for a new general manager. Time for a new running back. Time for a new head coach

[NeMesiS]

Wow...I've never been so embarrased at a NY Giants football coached (Not even the Ray Handley era) as when I saw TC yell at Mathias Kiwanuka after that miss tackle. I knew then, TC lost this team after that. Embarrassing really! :brooding:

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

Wow...I've never been so embarrased at a NY Giants football coached (Not even the Ray Handley era) as when I saw TC yell at Mathias Kiwanuka after that miss tackle. I knew then, TC lost this team after that. Embarrassing really! :brooding:

Agree with you 100%. He looked like an asshole. Obviously the kid made a huge mistake...but it was not through lack of trying. The refs need to get consistent about the passrush...when is it really roughing and when is it just hard football. You would have thought the kid had danced around the quarterback and purposely let him get the first down by how Coach Cheer Leader acted.