Former Giants coach Tom Coughlin will be staying busy in 2016 as he has been hired by the NFL to join their football operations department, according to Jim Trotter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Recently, Coughlin told Peter King of The MMQB that although he will not be coaching in 2016, he is eager to coach again in 2017. Coughlin’s newest job will keep him involved in football and also in contact with influential executives that could consider him for vacancies next year.
“I’ve coached 47 years of my life,” the 70-year-old said in May. “You take it away, and that’s not an easy thing to duplicate.”
The Giants left the door open for Coughlin to assume a role within the organization after he stepped down as the team’s head coach, but indicated earlier this offseason that he is not interested. Coughlin interviewed for the 49ers’ vacancy this offseason as well as the Eagles’ head coaching job. Late in Philly’s search, however, Coughlin withdrew his name from consideration. Reportedly, Coughlin could have landed the Eagles job had he not had a change of heart.
Coughlin has coached in the NFL for 20 of the past 21 seasons, a streak broken only by his 2003 hiatus from the league. Coughlin won’t be on the sidelines this year, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back at it in 2017.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.