Tom Coughlin hears the criticism
December, 23, 2010

I've had that uncomfortable conversation with New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin about job security before. It was a topic of discussion this past offseason based on the Giants' second-half collapse in '09.

Coughlin is normally resolute in saying he wants all the heat on him, but on Wednesday, he admitted to ESPNNewYork.com that the criticism can get a little noisy at times.

"I try not to let that be bothersome to me, but it's really difficult to ignore it," Coughlin told Ian O'Connor. "Every time we lose a game, that stuff comes up."

That sounds a bit different than what we're used to from Coughlin. He's known as one of the top motivators in the league, so it's a little odd when he admits that the criticism might be affecting him. I agree with O'Connor that Coughlin shouldn't be fired if the Giants miss the playoffs, but it could happen. We've heard co-owner John Mara dismiss reports that the New York Giants are on Bill Cowher's Christmas wish list, but it's not like Mara has said unequivocally that Coughlin will return in 2011.

Cowher experienced the best job security this league has to offer while working for the Rooneys in Pittsburgh. I believe John Mara and Steve Tisch are fond of Coughlin, but they don't have the patience of a Dan Rooney. Coughlin earned the benefit of the doubt with that title in '07, but a coach can lose that a lot quicker in the New York market.

"It's part of the business and there's nothing I'm going to say to change it," Coughlin said. "Win games, and it goes away. We won three in a row and nobody was saying anything about [my job]. So we've got to go win games, and I understand it. I've been in it long enough to understand.

"You've got to go win, and that's what this is all about. And we didn't win last week, so here comes the speculation again."

When he won that first Super Bowl with the Giants, Bill Parcells was a made man in the Meadowlands. The same can't be said for Parcells' close friend and protege, Coughlin. If he loses to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon, you can guarantee that the Cowher speculation will reach a new level.

It's not fair to Coughlin, but it's the reality of the situation.

Speculation on the job security of New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has generally been that he's safe. But with another late-season fade, he might not be.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News takes a realistic view of Coughlin's career, noting that in five out of six of Coughlin's seasons as head coach, the team has either crumbled down the stretch, been crushed in the first round of the playoffs, or both. In fact, it may be the Super Bowl championship run of 2008 that has saved the man thus far, as those late season collapses have "become an unfortunate staple of the Coughlin Era," in Vacchiano's words.

Given the uncertainty of the offseason ahead -- and the fact that Coughlin only has one year left on his contract -- we tend to think he's pretty safe. But an embarrassing plunge out of the playoff mix over these last two weeks could change that. Should he be let go, the Giants -- with their core of talent -- would be atop any free agent head coach's wish list, including Bill Cowher.

- Tim Kavanagh

Big_Pete wrote:
I think if the team doesn't win Coughlin's future will be tenuous. This is a very key game.

Pizan wrote:Geez Pete you've been wanting to talk about firing TC since the start of the season. If they lose vs the Packers I'll talk about it.

To be fair, I think Coughlin is one of the better coaches in the league at player development. A big reason why we don't have many busts is because Coughlin's approach works very well with developing young players.

The problem is, when we develop them, we don't put them in positions to maximize their talent. That's moreso the Xs and Os of coaching. And that has always been an issue under Coughlin.

The man does a great job of developing talent, and managing the team and having his players ready to play and play hard, but he's not the best strategist.

Pizan wrote:Fewell to me is inconsistent. We may never have another Spags so I have to stop comparing the DC's to him, I'll always be let down. Spags was perfect. He knew when to dial up the blitzes, when to play press man or to play a soft man or switch to zone. He seemed to know everything the offense was about to do and how to stop it. Spags was the man. Fewell will never be a spags but we could be doing much worse. I can't fault him for our incapable LBs either. But 70 some points in the last 5 quarters is a serious problem. Fewell needs to correct it. Lucky for him we play Washington.

If we beat Washington we finish the year as a 10 win team that missed the playoffs (assuming GB wins). Thats really not that bad. If that happens the only way I fire Coughlin is if we have a 99% shot at Bill Cowher. You gotta think, losing a coach like Cowher to another team just to keep Coughlin around another year is definitely weighing in on the decision. Also, getting Cowher is much less of a risk than firing TC for an unproven or already failed once coach like the guys on your list, Pete.

Cowher is returning to coaching next season. Mark my words. He lost his wife to cancer this past summer and his girls are in college. He's ready to return to coaching. But with that said, I think the 49ers job is much more appealing. Jed York will be willing to give Cowher the control he'll want and the team is already set for a 3-4 defense which he prefers. The only problem I see with that is that Cowher is an East coast guy. Played college/pro, coached, and retired all on the east coast.

If we lose against the skins, A change is needed and i'll talk about the other coaches at that time.

Big_Pete wrote:
How do you rate Fewell's performance as DC?

I think there will be serious discussion about Coughlin's future. It is not that Coughlin is a bad coach, but I don't think we are getting the most out of our roster and that new perspective is needed.

Another poster on a different forum pretty much sums up Coughlin pretty well imho

To be fair, I think Coughlin is one of the better coaches in the league at player development. A big reason why we don't have many busts is because Coughlin's approach works very well with developing young players.

The problem is, when we develop them, we don't put them in positions to maximize their talent. That's moreso the Xs and Os of coaching. And that has always been an issue under Coughlin.

The man does a great job of developing talent, and managing the team and having his players ready to play and play hard, but he's not the best strategist.

56 Crazed Dogs wrote:I'm going in another direction than all this "fire the head coach talk".
Last time I looked, coach Coughlin hasn't thrown on a pair of cleats and shook hands at the 50 yard line.

You can't win games when your QB leads the league with 24 INT's and offense has fumbled a league leading 17 times. It's also hard to win when your receivers continually drop catchable footballs.

Sure, coaches coach but some players don't learn or just lack the talent to get any better.

Now, when Tom Coughlin and Gerald Ingram helped a few years back with Tiki's fumbling issues they got all kinds of praise around the nfl world, and you still hear about it to this day. So what, did they just forget how to keep coaching that stuff? I don't think so. These fumbling problems that our RB's have is all on them.

Eli Manning is clearly in a slump and with an o-line playing the way the giants has, Jimmy Clausen could be putting up Tom Brady numbers.
I don't know why, but Eli has tried forcing in way too many throws this season, and many of them aren't desperation passes trying to win at the end of a game. He's doing this stuff way too early and way too often.

The lossed connection of qb coach, Chris Palmer and wr coach Mike Sullivan has been hurtful if I had to guess.
I see why Coughlin may have promoted Sullivan to qb coach but he's probably just not best suited there. Sullivan did wonders with our receivers last season by putting them in a good position to succeed.
As for newer wide receiver's coach Sean Ryan, there are just no credentials there to show why he even got the job.

I tend to like Perry Fewell for the most part. He plays with a lot of different disguises (although, sometimes too many) but usually lets his defense play agressive.
Like Vin mentioned, hard to fault him for the lack of quality linebackers.

All that said. I'm not blaming Coughlin but would consider a coaching change if the right one presented itself.
My early thoughts are "If it's not Cowher than just keep Coughlin"

Prediction; The only way Coughlin keeps his job is if the Giants back into the play-offs and win 2 games.

Boo wrote:Greetings... I'm new to this board and have been a Giants' fan since 1956.

My take on Coughlin is simple, he's a very good coach but I believe his job is in peril. His contract runs out after the 2011 season. Giants' ownership has a history of not wanting a lame duck HC. Couple that with his age, 64 (not old in my book), and a miss of, or early exit from the playoffs, and I believe Tom will be dismissed.

Just my opinion mind you...