New York Giants: Tom Coughlin Breakup Looming Large
By Erik Lambert
The New York Giants looked nothing like the team that had won two Super Bowls in the last four playoffs appearances they’d made prior to 2016.
In those days they played well in the regular season but always seemed to step it up another level when they got to January. Fans were expecting that again. The stage was certainly set up that way. It was Eli Manning. it was the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. History was going to repeat itself again. Sadly for New York fans, these weren’t the same Giants taking the field.
This was a different team under a different coach and it showed. New York was thoroughly outclassed 38-13. Ben McAdoo and his supposedly vaunted offensive scheme managed one touchdown all night. That defense they’d spent so much money on during the off-season was picked apart by Aaron Rodgers. Nothing went right. Thus one must ask the question.
Did they make a mistake firing Tom Coughlin?
One can understand the frustration with things after 2015. The Giants again failed to reach the playoffs for the fourth-straight time. Somebody had to be blamed. It couldn’t be the quarterback. General manager Jerry Reese avoided the criticism. The only man left was Coughlin, the mastermind behind both their most recent championship run. How might he have done with the same team?
Keep in mind he was 5-3 against the Packers in his career as Giants head coach. Three of those five wins were at Lambeau Field, two of them in the playoffs. The guy knew how to have his team prepared to win games on the road against tough teams. Does anyone really believe he couldn’t have made the playoffs and given them a better chance to win after the off-season additions they brought in?
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Even though the Giants made the postseason there was never a level of true belief that this team was poised for a run. Too many red flags had appeared over the course of the season. Yes, Coughlin was old and maybe not the fire-breather he once was. That doesn’t mean he suddenly stopped being the right man for the job. Maybe ownership jumped the gun, not bothering to wonder if the talent level just wasn’t good enough.
It certainly would explain why the man seemed more than a bit salty when the team let him go last year.