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How Tom Coughlin Brought the Giants to This Point
Tom Coughlin was named the head football coach of the New York Giants on January 6, 2004. In his first season, Coughlin led the Giants to a 5-2 start before Kurt Warner started struggling. Coughlin made the brave, but fairly unpopular, move to insert rookie quarterback Eli Manning as the starter. The Giants went on to lose six of the seven games Manning started.
Yet, in hindsight, it was one of the smartest moves Coughlin has made in his coaching career.
A great deal was made of Coughlin's initial disciplinarian style. Veterans in the Giants locker room complained, both on and off the record, of Coughlin's insistence on players arriving on time to meetings. He was never hesitant to discipline players for showing up late.
Things have rarely been easy for the Giants under Coughlin. The team had high expectations heading into the 2006 season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles. Throughout the season, fans chanted for Coughlin's firing, but the playoff berth secured an extension for Coughlin.
It was 2007 that Coughlin did his best work as head coach of the Giants (perhaps until this current season). Though the team started 0-2, they rebounded to win six straight, and compiled a 7-1 road record to reach the playoffs for the third straight season. The Giants went through Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay to reach the Super Bowl, where they unseated the undefeated New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII.
The following year, the Giants would earn the NFC's #1 seed, but fell in the divisional round to the Eagles, in part because of Plaxico Buress' shooting incident which forced the Giants to lose 4 of their last 5 games.
Coughlin's job security grew less secure over the next two years as the team missed the playoffs in 2009 and 2010. Still, Coughlin earned the right to coach in 2011, providing his last chance to save his job.
The calls for Coughlin's firing were loud after the loss to the Redskins in Week 15 of this season. Now, after four straight wins and the current trip to the NFC Championship game, he will undoubtedly return for the next few years.
Over the years, Coughlin's style has adapted and adjusted. He is still red in the face on the sideline and cannot stand penalties, but he is less disciplinarian and more father figure.
Though Giants fans have called for his firing several times, it is clear that they have benefited greatly from Coughlin for many years.
Photo Credits: Associated Press
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