Saying that I have vascilated on Tom Coughlin is like saying I have no chance for an orgy with Jessica Simpson and Angelina Jolie. In other words, it is the understatement of the century.
Now, mind you, I have never been a fan of Tom Coughlin. I was for about 10 minutes in 2004 when he was first hired as the head coach of Big Blue, my favorite team. He said all the right things. He was gonna take the hapless Giants, the team that former coach Jim Fassel had coddled into utter mediocrity, and the Giants would return to their former glory, right? That was suppose to be the plot. And Coughlin was a Parcells guy to boot. I mean, could there be anything better than a returning hero, one of the leaders of the great Giants teams that rattled off two Championships in four years, a few NFC championship appearances, and a defense that was second only to the mighty Bears of that era? Again, that's when I liked Tom Coughlin. That lasted for about 10 minutes.
So when I say I have vascilated on the man, I mean I have vascilated I what to DO with Tom Coughlin.
At the end of last year I rooted against my own team, my favorite team, because I wanted to see Tom Coughlin gone. I believed that a loss to the Redskins at the end of the year, or a loss in the playoffs to the Eagles would have been enough to oust Tom terrific. I was pissed when Tiki Barber did his first big "F*CK YOU" to the Giants fandom by running all over The Redskins, ensuring the Giants would make the playoffs, then thank Ernie Acorsi who decided to retire at the end of last year and throw the entire organization into flux. When the G-Men decided NOT to fire Coughlin, at first I was upset. I mean, I had actively rooted for my favorite team to lose just to get rid of this anchor of a head coach, now he was BACK, for another year?
But, over the course of the next few months, as a listened to asshole after asshole (named Mike and the Mad Dog) claim tht bringing Coughlin back was the right move cause no one could easily name his obvious replacement, I convinced myself they were right and my instincts, and the instincts of every Giants fan, was wrong. Coughlin had to come back because no one else was out there, right? It must have been the offensive coordinator, right? It must have been Tim Lewis and his putrid defense, right? He deserved one more chance to get it right.
So, coming into the season, I had convinced myself Coughlin deserved this year to prove everyone wrong. Now, heading into week 3, what do I think?
You couldn't find a rocket ship fast enough to get this waste of genes out of here.
It might not be all of Coughlin's fault, but man it is close.
I don't know if someone else could reign in this team, but you can't convince that someone couldn't do a better job of it than Coughlin. Everything Coughlin was brought here to do he has failed at. Everey single bench mark for success has fallen short. Every single positive move forward has been nixed by two negative steps backwards.
What is Tom Coughlin known for in his time with the Giants? Seriously, whether you are or aren't a fan of the man, ask yourself what his teams are known for over the last three plus years in New York? Incredible comeback wins? Nope. Amazing offensive or defensive schemes that get guys like Boomer Eisiason and Dan Marino wet in the pants? Ummm...........not at all. An old school, old style NFC East defense? Not even close.
How about stupid plays? Yes. How about a litany of injuries, injuries that have come after Coughlin said they are a state of mind? Already this year half the team has spent significant time in the training room. How about bad, bad, bad, bad, bad penalties? No question. How about players mouthing off on the field and in the press? It wouldn't be Giants football without that. How about a penchant for getting outcoached by the other team? Can anyone name me the last time anyway said "you know what, Coughlin did a really good job of outcoaching that team? I didn't think so. And finally, how about the team tuning the coach out?
Well, here is where people tend to disagree. Now, I would like to think that, if I were the owner or the GM of a NFL team and I was presented with the above resume, it wouldn't take me answering that last question to fire the guys ass faster than you can say "Britney who?" But some people (again, Mike and the Mad Dog) argued that the team had not given up on Tom Coughlin, evidenced by their "hard" play at the end of last year. But there is a differense between giving up and giving up on a coach. Last year Tom Coughlin's team was in the playoff hunt from virtually day one. They started off hot, ended up falling apart, but because the NFC is the equivalent of the East in the NBA (sucks hardcore), they were never outside of the playoffs looking in. They always had control of their own destiny. As long as they won one or two games at the end of the season they were gonna make it. The Giants never faced a true character test last year, a true test of how they feel the coach. If the Giants had been a game out of the last playoff spot with three to play, that would have told me something. If they battled and battled with no guarantee of a playoff spot, that would have told me something. If they had played their hardest football even when the team was out of the race, that would tell me something about their feelings about the coach.
Not giving up on the season, not playing half hearted football when you can win your way into the playoffs, doesn't tell me the team loves or is committed to their coach. It tells me they didn't want to quit on their season, their chance to make the playoffs.
In week two, the Giants, at their home opener, against the Green Bay Packers, looked lifeless. They looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but where they were. The body language of the defense was horrible. They looked beaten, not for one game, but for the season. The looks on the Giants faces yesterday had the look of a 6-10 team playing out the last game or two of the season.
Again, will that change? I would hope so and I would think so. There's a whole lotta football to be played and even the Atlanta Falcons shouldn't be looking to next year just quite yet. However, the red flags are already up. The looks of a split team, and team looking for scapegoats, was already there. And even the most ardent Coughlin supporter would be hard pressed to convince anyone he can win a team over after he's already lost them.
Why fire Tom Coughlin now? First, because, as a coach, he just isn't that good. Like I said, can you name me one game in the past three plus years where the talk, after the game, was about what a wonderful job the Giants coaching staff did to help win a tough, almost unwinnable game All good coaches have at least a few moments where their understanding of the game is obvious and benefits the team. Coughlin, at his best, doesn't help lose the game for the Giants. At best, he is simply average. He is simply there.
Second, because you can't fire the players. Heard that before? I'm shocked. But the reason you just rolled your eyes when you read that is because you hear it all the time........and you hear it all the time because it's true. You can't fire the defense. You can't fire the wide receivers. You can't get rid of players as easily as you can get rid of the coach. Is that fair? Probably not, but the truth is, there is something broken on this team. It has been broken for a long, long time and Coughlin is a part of the problem. Is he the only problem? Of course not, but he is a part of the problem, and at this point you correct what you can. The players on the team are not correctable right now. The coach is.
Third, and finally, what could it hurt? This is already on its way to being a lost season. The team isn't playing well. The team isn't playing hard. If you fire Coughlin and move someone else in, the worse that happens is the team plays a little worse than it would have for Coughlin and they get a higher draft pick at the end of the season. At best, they move someone else in who sparks, somehow, this team. They get the message that they are embarrasing themselves, they get the message Coughlin is the first of possibly a series of moves, moves that may involve them in the future, and they better start playing a little better. And maybe they get a new sense of life infused. Some coaches are beloved, and when they are fires the team responds almost as a family would upon losing a loved one. They say all the right things but, in the end, they have given up. They almost DON'T want to win without their guy with them. Does anyone think Coughlin would evoke such emotions? If he were fired, perhaps it would give this team new life. Most in that locker room would be happy. Most would look at it as a new lease on life. What's the chance that happens now, with Coughlin in as coach?
Some coaches just don't work out. Coughlin's act might be best suited for the college ranks, where he can get away with his Bobby Knight routine with a bunch of scared shitless 19-year olds who are just happy to be there. It has worked for the likes of Pete Carroll, Nick Saban, Al Growe, and a slew of other "no mas" NFL coaches who have retreated to the relative comfort of NCAA football, where you can actually schedule anywhere between 3 and 5 wins a year. But Coughlin isn't the coach for the New York Giants. He hasn't done the job, he hasn't inspired the players, and he hasn't inspired the fans.
Playing in the same stadium, wearing the ugliest green and white uniforms in America, the Jets have the same exact record as the Giants. Yet that team, and its fans, feel good about their future today. They believe in the direction of their franchise. They believe in the people at the top, running things for their team. The record might be the same but the mindsets couldn't be any different, at all.
In the end, the Giants need to do NOW what they should have done 9 months ago. They need to admit their mistake and move on. They need to dedicate themselves to finding a truly talented head coach with a vision for this team that everyone can get behind. It might mean a few more lean years, but fans, especially in NY, are a lot more savy than people give them credit for. They understand that a sacrifice made today is worth it if there are obvious benefits for tomorrow.
They need to begin their own coaching tree, not tomorrow but today, and that can only start by letting Tom Coughlin go.
