Coughlin wants to coach six or eight more years

Posted by Mike Florio on January 3, 2011, 4:59 PM EST

There’s a theory in league circles that Giants coach Tom Coughlin will finish his current contract, which expires after the 2011 season, and then call it a career.

If so, Coughlin has yet to get the memo.

Asked during a Monday press conference how long he plans to coach, Coughlin said, “Probably 70 or 72.”

But then he added, “One year at a time.” (He also said he feels like he’s only 27, even though he’ll turn 65 later this year. Maybe when he was 27 he felt like he was 64.)

One year is the only commitment that the Giants currently have to Coughlin, who says he hasn’t considered his formal arrangement with the team.

“I haven’t even thought about that,” Coughlin said. “That’s one of those things that I haven’t thought about. You keep asking me if I’m aware of the situation that I’m in. I never was aware of anything other than I’m the head coach of the New York Giants. That’s all I cared about. This situation with the contract, that’s the first time I’ve even heard anything about that and I’m sure, as everything else, it will be addressed at the proper time.”

Frankly, Coughlin needs to think about it, because absent a new deal he’ll be a lame duck in 2011, which will create a potentially major distraction for Coughlin and for his team.

Whether he gets a new deal is unsettled. Co-owner Steve Tisch said Monday that an answer is coming.

“I’m very aware of the timing on Tom’s contract, as is [co-owner] John [Mara] and [G.M.] Jerry [Reese]. I’m not sure 12 hours after coming back from Washington with the sort of mixed feelings we have that it is going to be an issue discussed today,” Tisch said. “I don’t think John, Jerry, and I have ever let any of these issues linger on, and in fairness to Tom and the team, this is an issue that will be addressed very, very soon.”

One factor that makes the issue an important one is the decrease in Coughlin’s salary for 2011 by $750,000. Also potentially complicating things is that, while Coughlin said today that he plans to make no changes to his staff, Tisch said that changes could be made. If ownership wants to make changes and Coughlin resists, that could throw a wrench into the current plan to bring Coughlin back.

Nothing much will happen as far as the coaching staff goes until the evaluation process is completed, likely this week.

We know Coughlin will be back

We know that Gilbride and Fewell is in the mix for jobs elsewhere.


I think Pat Flaherty, Mike Pope, Robert Nunn, Jim Hermann, Peter Giunta and Dave Merritt have done well this year

I am not certain about Mike Sullivan, Sean Ryan or Jerry Ingram or Tom Quinn

Big_Pete wrote:I am not certain about Mike Sullivan, Sean Ryan or Jerry Ingram or Tom Quinn

I'm certain that 3 out 4 of them sucked this season.