ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported via Twitter that New York Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin has officially stepped down from his position after twelve years with the team.
Tom Coughlin out as @Giants head coach via @AdamSchefter
A look at his accomplishments: pic.twitter.com/K676nIUEat
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 4, 2016
Coughlin met with Giants ownership Monday afternoon, and has since informed his coaching staff that he will be stepping down from his position as head coach.
“I met with John Mara and Steve Tisch this afternoon, and I informed them that it is in the best interest of the organization that I step down as head coach. I strongly believe the time is right for me and my family and as i said, the Giants organization. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as head coach of the New York Football Giants. This is not a sad occasion for me. I have spent 15 years with this organization as an assistant and head coach and was fortunate to be part of three Super Bowl winning teams.”
Coughlin won two Super bowls (Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI) in his twelve-year career with the Giants, both against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, the more memorable of the two being in 2007 where the Giants ruined the Patriots’ shot at being the only undefeated team to win a championship since the 1972 Dolphins .
The Inquisitrreported the likeliness of Tom Coughlin’s removallast night, and many had already expected the move mid-way through the season as the Giants struggled to come a top a mediocre NFC East where other teams were plagued with injury and personnel issues.
The Giants finished the 2015 season 6-10 under Coughlin, and have missed the playoffs in each of the past four seasons after winning the Super Bowl in 2011.
Rumors had been circling Coughlin’s future for the majority of the season. And though there was no official word from the Giants front office before Monday, many, including FOX Sports’ Jay Glazier, knew the end was near for the second longest tenured coach in the league in the Meadowlands .
With Tom Coughlin “stepping down” and not choosing to retire, he leaves the door open for a possible return next season on another team’s sideline. And with his experience and two Super Bowl rings, a franchise could do worse than giving Coughlin a shot as head coach.
A few teams that might benefit from Coughlin’s services include the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers.
The Browns and 49ers have both fired their head coaches as of Monday morning, and though the Colts have yet to make an announcement regarding any changes at the position, multiple reports have surfaced stating that the head coaching situation in Indy is still cloudy, despite player support for the retainment of current coach Chuck Pagano.
Considering his age at 69, a long term project doesn’t seem logical for Coughlin. So, teams like the Browns and 49ers, whose issues stem well beyond the need of a head coach, wouldn’t be an ideal fit for him.
The Colts, however, offer Coughlin a scenario very similar to the one he won two Lombardi trophies in back in 2007 and 2011. They have an elite quarterback in Andrew Luck , with playmakers on both sides of the ball, and reside in a division that has failed to field a legitimate contender in recent years.
Should the Colts decide to part ways with their current situation at head coach, inserting Tom Coughlin, who offers a Super Bowl pedigree, may be what Andrew Luck and the Colts need to catapult to the next level and bring a Lombardi trophy to the city of Indianapolis.
[Photo by AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File]
