Tom Coughlin - Pro Football Rumors

East Notes: Giants, Harrison, Eagles

December 27th, 2015 at 11:16am CST by Rory Parks

The Giants were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night by virtue of Washington’s victory over the Eagles, which has led ESPN’s Dan Graziano to wonder where Big Blue goes from here. He lays out the three biggest questions facing the team this offseason, including, of course, the fates of head coach Tom Coughlin and former first-round draft picks Prince Amukamara and Jason Pierre-Paul. Although it has been widely reported that Coughlin would be fired if his team failed to reach the playoffs this season, Graziano writes that a decision on Coughlin’s future has not yet been made.

Let’s take a look at a few more links from the league’s east divisions, beginning with more out of New York:

Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News suggests that there will be pressure from within the Giants‘ organization to make a coaching change, but Vacchiano says it would be unwise to underestimate how much team president John Mara likes Coughlin, and if Mara wants to stick with the coach that has delivered two Super Bowl titles to his club, Vacchiano lays out five reasons that would justify such a decision.
If the Giants do decide to part ways with Coughlin, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is highly thought of within the organization and would become a strong candidate to become the team’s next head coach.
If he stays with the Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick could land a contract that will pay him between $10-12MM annually, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (citing a prominent NFL agent).
Damon Harrison, one of the unsung heroes of the Jets defensive line, will be a free agent at year’s end, and during a recent Q&A with Steve Serby of The New York Post, Harrison expressed his desire to remain with the Jets for the foreseeable future.
Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald looks back at the disastrous 2013 offseason that saw the Dolphins make enormous mistakes in both the draft and free agency, mistakes that will continue to haunt the team in 2016 and beyond.
After the Eagles‘ loss to Washington last night, quarterback Sam Bradford said he would like to remain in Philadelphia going forward, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. Although Bradford has had an up-and-down season in his first year with the club, Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes the impending free agent did enough last night to prove to the Eagles that he is worthy of a new contract.
As Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News notes, the question of who will make the decision on Bradford’s future with the Eagles is still very much up in the air. Although Bowen still believes owner Jeffrey Lurie is “in too deep” with Chip Kelly to pull the plug on his embattled head coach so soon after handing him control of the team’s personnel decisions, the Eagles loss last night and the manner in which they lost may force Lurie’s hand.

NFC East Notes: Coughlin, Bradford

December 26th, 2015 at 6:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s the latest from the NFC East, whose 2015 champion could be crowned tonight:

As the end of the season draws nearer, Giants owner John Mara gets closer to having to make a decision on the future of two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin. Although the Coughlin-led Giants are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year, their best move might be to give him another shot with a better roster, opines Newsday’s Bob Glauber – who doesn’t believe there are obvious signs that the 69-year-old is past his prime. Glauber doesn’t see any loss of passion from Coughlin or effort issues from his players, a sign they haven’t tuned him out. If the Giants disagree and do elect to fire Coughlin, anyone they hire to replace him wouldn’t be free of warts. They’d either be choosing a first-time head coach – which could work, Glauber concedes, but it’s a risky proposition – or someone who has failed at another stop.
In his own piece centering on Coughlin, the New York Daily News’ Ralph Vacchiano offers five reasons why the Giants won’t fire their head coach. Among those reasons: The Giants might not want to force 35-year-old Eli Manning to learn a third new offense in a four-year span, especially given the fact that he was played so well under current coordinator Ben McAdoo. Speaking of which, Mara’s ideal scenario – a source told Vacchiano – is for McAdoo to get further seasoning as an assistant and then have Coughlin pass him the head coaching reins after a more successful season.
Eagles quarterback and free agent-to-be Sam Bradford will have a chance over the next two weeks to show he can be a big-game player, Zach Berman of Philly.com writes. Bradford will play his first meaningful late-season game since 2010 tonight when the 6-8 Eagles take on NFC East-leading Washington (7-7). If the Eagles lose, they’re eliminated from playoff contention and Washington clinches the division. That’s likely to happen if Bradford turns in a similar performance to the last time he was in a must-win game at the end of a season. In Bradford’s rookie year, the former No. 1 overall pick and ex-Ram completed just 19 of 36 passes for a paltry 155 yards and an interception in a 16-6 loss to the Seahawks. That Week 17 defeat put the Seahawks in the playoffs and sent Bradford and the Rams home for a long offseason. Bradford is excited about the chance to atone for that showing. “It’s been a long time coming. This is why you play,” he said.

East Notes: Giants, Tannehill, Jets

December 12th, 2015 at 7:23pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While Giants brass was fed up enough with pass rusher Damontre Moore to cut him Friday after he got in a fight over headphones with then-teammate Cullen Jenkins, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes that most of the club’s players aren’t happy the 23-year-old is gone. One Giant told Graziano that Moore’s gameday encouragement of both offensive and defensive players will be missed, and another said the third-year man could always be counted on to attend teammates’ charity events without asking for anything in return.

The atmosphere in the locker room was quiet after Moore’s release, per Graziano, who believes his ex-Giants teammates want things to go better for him in his next stop. There’s a chance the Giants and Moore could meet as foes this year, Graziano notes, as one of their remaining opponents – the Dolphins, Panthers, Vikings or Eagles – might land him.

More on Big Blue and a couple of AFC East teams:

While the Giants’ Tom Coughlin may be past his prime, the recent work of general manager Jerry Reese hasn’t helped the head coach’s cause, submits Newsday’s Bob Glauder. The release of Moore, a third-round pick in 2013, is the latest check mark against Reese – whom Glauber believes has too often underwhelmed in the early and middle rounds of drafts over the last few years. Reese’s failure to hit on those picks has caught up to the Giants, which is a big reason why they’re 5-7.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has gotten plenty of blame for the team’s disappointing season, but offensive coordinator Zac Taylor says the fourth-year man hasn’t “regressed in any way, shape, or form,” per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
The Jets have two key defensive linemen scheduled to become free agents at year’s end. One is Muhammad Wilkerson, who’s among the best, most well-known defenders in the league. The other, Damon Harrison, doesn’t have Wilkerson’s name recognition, but he has performed brilliantly. That will make it difficult for the Jets to let Harrison go, opines Brian Costello of the New York Post. The 27-year-old currently grades out as the fifth-best run-stuffing interior D-lineman in the league this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Backup Dolphins tight end Brandon Williams broke a bone in his left foot and is likely to miss the rest of the season, head coach Dan Campbell said (Twitter link via ESPN’s James Walker).

East Notes: Coughlin, Flowers, Jets, Patriots

December 7th, 2015 at 6:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the latest Giants‘ blown lead continues the latest speculation surrounding Tom Coughlin‘s job, the 12th-year Giants coach admits frustration by his critical decisions being sabotaged by on-field sequences, Tom Rock of Newsday writes.

Big Blue’s longtime leader, though, said he doesn’t pay attention to inquiries about his job being in jeopardy.

Coughlin’s led the Giants to five playoff berths — which is one shy of Bill Parcells‘ six for the most in team history since the AFL-NFL merger — three NFC East titles and two Super Bowls since taking the franchise’s reins in 2004.

Here’s some more from East Rutherford, N.J., and some of the other Eastern-division teams.

Coughlin’s questionable clock management this season notwithstanding, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News writes the Giants’ injuries and overall lack of talent have put the team on the verge of missing the postseason for a fourth straight year. Vacchiano sees the Eli Manning-to-Odell Beckham connection as perhaps Big Blue’s only playoff-worthy facet, with injuries to Victor Cruz, Johnathan Hankins and maladies across the offensive line have exposed a lack of depth.
Ereck Flowers remains on crutches after going down with an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the Jets, NFL.com’s Kimberly Jones reports (on Twitter). Fellow rookie Bobby Hart, a seventh-rounder, represents the Giants’ only remaining tackle depth behind Flowers and Marshall Newhouse.
Sidelined with a Lisfranc injury Jets defensive end Mike Catapano will be out at least a couple of games and could be an injured reserve candidate, ESPN.com Rich Cimini tweets. Serving as depth behind star defensive ends Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, Catapano’s played in three games for the Jets this season after residing in Kansas City the past two years.
Tom Brady‘s legal team lobbed some more salvos at the NFL, when the league attempted to have the Patriots quarterback’s four-game suspension reinstated. The NFLPA argued Judge Richard Berman was not starstruck by Brady’s celebrity, according to Bob McGovern of the Boston Herald.
The Patriots hosted cornerback Leonard Johnson on a visit, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (via Twitter). A 25-year-old former UDFA, Johnson served as the Buccaneers’ nickel back last season and started 17 games for Tampa Bay from 2012-14. He hasn’t played in 2015.

Cole’s Latest: Coughlin, Pagano, Chargers, Rams

December 7th, 2015 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we rounded up several items related to head coaches whose jobs may be in jeopardy as the season nears an end. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report has provided a few updates on that topic as well, discussing a couple of the coaches we mentioned earlier, as well as a couple others. Here’s the latest:

The Giants aren’t likely to fire head coach Tom Coughlin before the end of the season, but they certainly could consider at after the season if they miss the playoffs, says Cole (video link). However, Cole cautions that the franchise has very specific qualifications in mind for its head coach, including a proven ability to deal with the pressure and attention that comes with working in New York. If the Giants don’t have strong potential candidates in mind that fit that bill, they may think twice about letting go of Coughlin.
The Colts’ defense allowed the Steelers to put up 45 points on Sunday, just over a year after letting Pittsburgh score 51 on them. That sort of repeat performance is a bad sign and could spark major changes for the team, according to Cole (video link). Although Cole suggests that Chuck Pagano is back on the hot seat, I’d expect the club to wait and see how the season finishes before making any decisions there — a playoff berth and a postseason win or two would make it a tough call. If Indianapolis misses the playoffs, it’s much harder to imagine Pagano keeping his job.
While Chargers head coach Mike McCoy and Rams head coach Jeff Fisher are both on the hot seat in their respective cities, there’s a scenario in which one or both coaches could keep their jobs for another year or two. As Cole explains (video link), the transition period if either of those franchises moves to Los Angeles in 2016 will be a rocky one, with the new L.A. team(s) playing in a temporary stadium for a couple seasons. As such, those clubs may be more inclined to hang onto their current coaches, perhaps putting off a change in a year or two and then making a new hire as excitement for that new stadium starts to build. I’m not sure I buy that theory, for a number of reasons, and Cole himself acknowledges that it’s one possible outcome, but perhaps not the most likely one.

Coaching Notes: Giants, Chargers, Lions

December 7th, 2015 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

With less than a month remaining in the NFL regular season, we’re getting to that time of year when every poor performance by a sub-.500 team can raise questions about a head coach’s job security. A few coaches, in particular, are on the hot seat after bad Week 13 showings, so let’s round up the latest on a handful of situations around the NFL….

The Giants aren’t the sort of team that would fire a head coach – particularly one with two Super Bowl wins under his belt – for clock management. However, at some point, after so many terrible losses this season, “the accumulation of disappointment erodes even the most formidable reservoir of goodwill,” writes Dan Graziano of ESPN.com in his discussion of Tom Coughlin.
Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch may love Coughlin, but the head coach is making their choice on his future easier with a series of bad losses, writes Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
Jordan Raanan of NJ.com identifies 13 potential head coaching candidates for the Giants in the event that the team decides to replace Coughlin at season’s end.
Wholesale changes to the Chargers‘ coaching staff are necessary, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. That could mean parting ways with head coach Mike McCoy, though Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune hears from a highly-placed source that team management has mulled the possibility of retaining McCoy and making changes to his staff on both offense and defense.
While the Lions would like to get a permanent general manager in place before deciding on the future of head coach Jim Caldwell, sticking to that plan may result in the team missing out on some top candidates, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press observes. At the very least, the club likely wouldn’t be involved in the first interview window for assistants on teams with first-round byes.

NFC Notes: Cardinals, Browner, Coughlin

December 6th, 2015 at 7:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Before signing a three-year extension with the Cardinals yesterday, cornerback Justin Bethel was set to hit free agency following the season. The special teams ace could have made more than $9MM guaranteed on the open market, but he told Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com that he wanted to stay in Arizona.

“You never know,” Bethel said. “You want to stay with the team that brought you in. You talk with your agents, you talk with your family, you want to do what’s best for you and your career. Not everybody plays the game for a long time. I didn’t want to go and be greedy if they gave me a really good deal, which they did. I’m thankful.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC…

Brandon Browner‘s brutal first season with the Saints got even worse in today’s loss to the Panthers. The cornerback was called for three penalties, was beat by Devin Funchess for a touchdown, and was a part of the failed coverage that led to another score by Ted Ginn. The veteran was also caught arguing with teammate Jairus Byrd and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. This led to Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe tweeting that Browner should be released, citing the distraction that accompanies the defensive back.
On the flip side, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com notes (via Twitter) that the Saints are too depleted to let go of Browner, noting that both Delvin Breaux and Damian Swann are currently banged up.
Leading by 10 with less than nine minutes to go, Giants coach Tom Coughlin opted to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal. Eli Manning‘s pass ended up being picked off, setting the way for the Jets’ comeback victory. The New York Post’s Steve Serby believes that play could signal “the beginning of the end” for the long-time Giants coach.

East Notes: Kelly, McDaniels, Coughlin

December 6th, 2015 at 11:02am CST by Rory Parks

Just a week after Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was said to be “despondent” and “mulling all options” on the heels of back-t0-back blowout losses, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the head coach is likely to return to the Philadelphia sidelines in 2016. Owner Jeffrey Lurie remains a staunch Kelly supporter, even though he is aware of some dissension in the locker room, and per La Canfora, Lurie “did not hand Kelly total control to the roster a few months ago to consider launching a new search for a coach and GM now.” Although it is not inconceivable that Kelly could return to the college ranks in 2016, those vacancies are filling up quickly and team officials would be shocked if Kelly left the Eagles before completing his fourth season with the club.

Although Kelly surely appreciates Lurie’s loyalty, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Kelly himself is too loyal to under-performing players. During Kelly’s tenure with the Eagles, he has never released or benched a player for poor performance, and McLane thinks certain members of the club may have become complacent.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is once again a hot head coaching candidate, and La Canfora writes that he is open to speaking with teams this offseason. Of course, given McDaniels’ disastrous stint in Denver, he would only go to a team that has a strong organizational structure from ownership down, since another failed tenure would likely spell the end of his head coaching opportunities. Many clubs are enamored with McDaniels’ offensive mind and ability to extract a great deal of production from an offense that has to continually reinvent itself, and McDaniels is viewed as the closest thing to a Belichick clone to emerge from the Belichick coaching tree.
If McDaniels is to leave the Patriots, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe sees the Lions as the most likely landing spot, given that the team has a good young quarterback in place and ownership that has shown patience in the past. The Titans have been viewed as a fit, and they may be, but their ownership situation is unstable, and Volin does not believe McDaniels would disrespect New England by going to a team like the Dolphins or Colts that has a history of bad blood with the Patriots.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin may be on the hot seat, but as Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News writes, Coughlin typically thrives with his back to the wall. Of course, the team had a chance to take a commanding lead in the NFC East last week and failed to do so, which means that the Giants’ string of four straight seasons without a playoff berth is in danger of continuing. If that happens, Coughlin’s two Super Bowl rings and respect from team ownership may not be enough to save him.

Tom Coughlin, Jerry Reese On Hot Seat?

December 4th, 2015 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 8:06am: A source familiar with the Giants’ thinking tells Steve Serby of the New York Post that Coughlin’s seat is hotter than Reese’s. The GM is expected to be safe even if New York misses the playoffs this season, according to Selby’s source.

THURSDAY, 2:51pm: Although the Giants head into Week 13 tied for first place in the NFC East, they have lost back-to-back games and has a sub-.500 record, having failed to pull away with the division when they had the chance. The season has been a frustrating one for co-owner Steve Tisch, who “made it clear” that ownership considers the home stretch of the season “win-or-else time” for the franchise, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

“Under Coach [Tom] Coughlin, we’re fighters,” Tisch said. “[But] sometimes we fight harder than the previous week. We’ve got to stay focused and go out there as a team.”

When asked if the final five games of the season were particularly important for Coughlin and Jerry Reese, Tisch didn’t exactly offer a ringing vote of confidence for either the head coach or the general manager, according to Hubbuch. Although Tisch said the discussion on Coughlin and Reese wasn’t one to have today, he noted, “I certainly don’t want to disappoint our fans as we get into the last month of Giants football,” adding that he “would not be happy” if the team’s season ended on January 3.

Coughlin has been the Giants’ head coach since the 2004 season, and Reese has handled GM duties since 2007, so the club won’t make any hasty decisions on their respective futures. Still, New York has missed the playoffs for the last three seasons, finishing below .500 in each of the last two, and ownership didn’t deny last winter that 2015 would be a make-or-break year for the franchise’s brain trust.

Another losing season without a postseason berth would be particularly difficult to swallow, given how bad the Giants’ NFC East rivals have been. With five weeks left in the regular season, New York still has plenty of time to make a late-season run and win the East, and should even have a little margin for error. But if the Giants lose three or four more games and finish outside the playoff picture, the team could be in the market for a new coach or GM, or both.

Coughlin is currently under contract through the 2016 season.

Coaching Notes: USC, Payton, Fisher, Fins

November 30th, 2015 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

It wasn’t an NFL coaching job, but the USC head coaching position was expected to have an impact on the NFL, since a number of the school’s potential candidates were current coaches or coordinators around the league. However, the Trojans announced today (via Twitter) that interim coach Clay Helton will become the team’s permanent head coach going forward, meaning that Chip Kelly and other coaches around the NFL can be crossed off the list.

It sounds like USC did reach out to Kelly to gauge his interest before deciding to move forward with Helton though. According to FootballScoop.com (Twitter link), USC officials met with Kelly last week, but the Eagles head coach prefers to remain in the NFL. Similarly, USC checked in on Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, who told the Trojans he’s not leaving Oakland, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.

Here are a few more coaching-related items from around the league:

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com believes that the Saints should “go ahead and start sniffing around” for teams that may be interested in giving up a draft pick or two for head coach Sean Payton, since this winter looks like a good time for an overhaul. La Canfora identifies the Browns, Colts, Dolphins, and Titans as teams that might have interest in Payton, and suggests that the draft pick return could be “substantial.”
Having lost four games in a row, Jeff Fisher‘s Rams are in a downward spiral, and Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com believes it’s time for the team to make coaching change at season’s end.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears that the decision to fire offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was made by Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell, who had “shown signs of displeasure” with the offense during the club’s last few games.
The Giants could have taken a commanding lead in the weak NFC East division with a win over Washington on Sunday, but the fact that the team couldn’t get it done puts head coach Tom Coughlin on the hot seat, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
Several weeks ago, with his team scuffling along at 2-5, head coach Bill O’Brien didn’t exactly look safe in Houston. Four wins later though, Texans owner Bob McNair is giving O’Brien credit for the team’s success, telling Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, “I think he’s doing a fine job.”