New York Giants: Tom Coughlin the missing piece for a lost team

A New York Giants team completely lost and going through the motions misses the presence of former head coach Tom Coughlin.

Just when one may believe things cannot get any worse for the disaster that is the 2017 New York Giants, the club goes and loses to what was a winless San Francisco 49ers side. Even worse, the Giants were out-everything’d during that contest. They lost on offense, defense, special teams, and in coaching, heart and desire. New York doesn’t even deserve flippant credit for rocking the right jerseys anymore.

Head coach Ben McAdoo has so clearly lost pockets of the locker room that his biggest defender can no longer deny the reality of the situation. Multiple members of the defense, particularly those in the secondary, visibly gave up on plays versus the 49ers, a sign that they have zero interest in fighting to save McAdoo’s job for another day let alone beyond the 2017 season.

Any remnants of the team once guided by former head coach Tom Coughlin disappeared well before New York’s latest defeat, but his absence becomes more glaring with every poor performance. Coughlin made numerous mistakes over the years, most notably during his final seasons with the Giants, but his teams never appeared as disinterested as do McAdoo’s players this fall.

Revisionist history teaches Coughlin became a popular coach, in time. Don’t forget the journey he completed to get there. In January 2016, ESPN’s Ian O’Connor wrote about Coughlin’s transformation from football dictator to true leader of men and to a figure who inspired players to defeat what seemed to be an unbeatable New England Patriots team. Super Bowl XLII was Coughin’s finest hour, to date, and he repeated that success four years later.

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Coughlin’s critics and those who would discredit his contributions cannot ignore the executive vice president of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars has a prominent role within a front office of a team holding a 6-3 record. Say whatever you will about the jobs done by those who served the Jaguars before Coughlin. Imagine where that team would be in the standings right now if quarterback Blake Bortles found consistency, or if the Jags had Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith, Carson Wentz or Josh McCown under center instead of the often-unreliable Bortles.

The Jacksonville defense plays a hard-nosed and physical style of football long admired by Coughlin, who too often failed to receive credit for defenses built by coordinators such as Steve Spagnuolo. As cliche as it may be to say, that unit looks like a group led by Coughlin. One has to wonder if they’re showing up for meetings five minutes early to be on “Coughlin Time.”

Would the 2017 Giants be better off had ownership replaced current general manager Jerry Reese with Coughlin? Answering that question is impossible. Maybe he wouldn’t have accepted a role in the organization considering the way his ouster, which was handled just about as poorly as possible, played out. Perhaps he would have enjoyed remaining in the region and facing the challenge of helping quarterback Eli Manning win a third title head on.

One familiar with Coughlin’s past could reasonably suggest he would’ve seen warning signs that the Giants weren’t as good as advertised in mid-September, if not sooner. Don’t think for even a second Coughlin would allow players to embarrass him, his coaching staff, the franchise or fans with the type of casual effort displayed in San Francisco. Imagine Coughlin meeting with Janoris Jenkins following Sunday’s loss to the Niners. Jenkins may have had to book his own flight home immediately after that discussion.

Former players have joked and commented about Coughlin’s authoritarian ways. After signing a one-day deal so he could retire as a member of the Giants, defensive end Justin Tuck directly stated “we didn’t like Coach Coughlin,” but he also added “you better not say anything bad about him — not in my presence.” That level of respect and even love for leadership doesn’t exist in the New York locker room, and it won’t so long as those in charge keep their jobs.

The Giants experienced disappointing seasons under Coughlin. Big Blue began the 2013 campaign 0-6 before winning seven of their final ten contests. That team, at its worst, wasn’t as unwatchable as the current Giants. Even at 0-6, fans could believe, and maybe hope, Coughlin could right the ship. That positivity, and Coughlin’s influence, are gone.

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Worst of all is that the Giants didn’t lose their top leader of the past 17 years. Ownership sent him packing. His current employer is on pace to host a playoff game next January, while his previous team is about to blow things up and is in need of his services. The decision to part ways with Coughlin is another “what if” that will haunt the Giants for years if the club wastes the final years of Manning’s career, a fate that feels inevitable as winter looms.

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