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Fansided

The Greatest Villain In the History of All 32 NFL Teams

By Erik Lambert

of the New York Jets of the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium on November 22, 2007 in Irving, Texas
of the New York Jets of the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium on November 22, 2007 in Irving, Texas /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

New England Patriots

Tom Coughlin . 21. player. 47. . HC. Jaguars/Giants

Many might’ve expected Eli Manning to be the choice here, right? Makes sense. He’s the gritty quarterback who ruined the New England Patriots perfect season in 2007 and then stole another Super Bowl title from them four years later as well. If not for him Tom Brady would have seven rings instead of five. However, Manning was merely a gear in the Patriot-killing machine that was Tom Coughlin.

It starts with being the head coach of those New York Giants teams, which puts him on equal footing with Manning. While the QB played great in those games, so did the Giants defenses and that must be attributed to the coaching. What many fans lost in the euphoria of the Brady era tend to forget is Coughlin was a problem for this franchise years before even that.

Back in 19987, the Patriots had made the playoffs for the third-straight year. Unfortunately, it would mark the last time until 2001. In an eerie case of foreshadowing, it was Coughlin’s Jacksonville Jaguars who dispatched them in the wild card game 25-10.

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