Coughlin gets one-year extension from GiantsESPN.com news services
Despite a disappointing 8-8 record and the team's uncertainty at general manager, head coach Tom Coughlin will return as the Giants' head coach next season.
Coughlin, who had one year remaining on his original four-year contract, agreed to a one-year extension.
One assistant coach acknowledged to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli on Tuesday night that the staff remains in the dark about its future.
Coughlin dismissed offensive coordinator John Hufnagel before the team's final regular-season game. Quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride assumed the play-calling chores for that contest and Sunday's wild-card game defeat at Philadelphia. There are almost certain to be further staffing changes in the offseason.
In three seasons with the Giants, Coughlin has compiled a 25-23 record in the regular season and 0-2 record in playoff appearances. But New York suffered through a tumultuous 2006 campaign, losing six of its final eight games after starting the season 6-2 and barely earning a wild-card berth.
The season was marked by a crippling spate of injuries but also by open criticism of Coughlin and some assistant coaches from several of the team's highest profile veterans. Still, retaining Coughlin would provide stability to a team whose co-owners, Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch, died within weeks of each other in late 2005 and which will lose general manager Ernie Accorsi to retirement next week.
However, Bill Parcells won't be filling Accorsi's job. The Cowboys coach reacted angrily Tuesday to a report that he he reached out to the Giants about the position.
"There is absolutely nothing to it," Parcells told the New York Daily News from Dallas. "Absolutely nothing. There has been no contact, either directly or through an intermediary. Whoever said it is a liar."
The meetings between Coughlin and ownership started Monday evening and continued through most of the day Tuesday. Tuesday's meetings were back and forth whether Coughlin would be back, but members of the Mara and Tisch families talked to some of the players still cleaning out their lockers in Giants Stadium and found solid support for keeping Coughlin.
Coughlin is one of five coaches to make the playoffs the past two seasons. He has been responsible for getting two franchises into the playoffs. He built the Jaguars from an expansion team into a playoff contender in the 1990s. His career record in the NFL is 97-88.
Amazing...He also gets more input in personnel decisions..not total input but more input...They also have full faith in Eli manning...They said the last drive convinced them Coughlin and Manning should continue..
Net, net.....More of the same...
Dolan level owner incompetence.
shades of Don Chaney.
let's reward a coach for underachievement w/a nice contract extension... yeah, that's the ticket.
[Edited by - TMS on 01-10-2007 1:02 PM]
Posted by PhilinLA:
Dolan level owner incompetence.
Not even close. This may or may not be a good decision but the Mara's are about a 1000 bad decisions away from being Dolan.
I'm not shocked at all. I predicted he'd be back as well, thank you very much. It's window dressing and a clear strategy to wait for next year's crop of coaches, which everyone expects to include Cowher and Weiss is not leaving this year, so instead of make a "panic" move wait for better.
Clearly, they don't want a the notion of a "lame duck" coach hanging around all next season. How in the world would the Giants or Coughlin be able to succeed then? Impossible. The media circus would be even crazier than this past season if he was in the last year of his contract after ALL of the speculation about a coaching change, the locker room problems, the teams struggles, etc.
I think that Coughlin is CLEARLY still on the hot seat next year, but with the second year added to the deal, the media won't ask if he will be renewed every day, etc. If the team disappoints next year, with no Tiki to "ruin" the lockeroom, then the team fires him and goes for the big names we already know have a decent chance of being available...and obviously aren't now.
It's a calculated gamble by the Giants, but I think the best thing management can do now. I'm actually fine with the move, even though I want Coughlin gone, if it nets us Cowher or someone else better than what appears available now.
[Edited by - PresIke on 01-10-2007 1:28 PM]
[Edited by - PresIke on 01-10-2007 1:29 PM]
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
anyone who doesn't think Coughlin's a lame duck coach next year is kidding themselves... a 1 year extension is a mere formality... if the Giants truly believed in this guy they'd have extended him to another 3 or 4 year deal... waiting on Cowher is all well & good, but IMO if they really wanted him they coulda thrown a boatload of cash at him right now & gotten him... he's not going to be any cheaper a year from now, i'll tell u that much right now... & you're going to have teams like the Cowboys & Redskins bidding him up at that time also instead of teams he's unlikely to go to like the Raiders.
i agree that if this nets us Cowher after next season, i'm fine w/waiting, but i think we could have him this season just the same... i don't see how keeping Coughlin here is the right decision other than the fact that the Mara's & Tisch's are so conservative in their decision making... the stuff about Coughlin convincing them that he had a plan to right the ship & to develop Eli better next season is hard for me to buy into... so he's going to get himself a new Offensive Coordinator & a new QB coach? is that any different than bringing in a fresh voice to lead this team & to get these veterans to play up to their potential this season instead of waiting a year to do it? what's Coughlin's plan to fix the defense i wonder? is he going to fire Tim Lewis too & find himself a new D Coordinator?
Posted by nyk4ever:
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
Amazing...Do a bad job and I give you more responsibility...You should love Isiah then...
actually more input on personel decisions is good. That was his strongpoint @ Jax and the one guy he lobbied for in the draft (Snee) is our best offensive lineman.
I do not like him as a coach at all but I understand why this was done.
As for Eli he's good. Not great, but good. He misses guys and makes some bad throws but he's also engineered a myriad of late comebacks. You can also look at 4 games where Eli went down the field for a score that tied a game late in the 4th or gave the Giants the lead, only to have the defense immediatly choke it back up.
Eli's biggest problem is he was picked #1.
The Giants are a classy organization with a solid plan. They manage the cap well every year. They scout OK and they generally stay away from headache players.
Tim Lewis has got to go
Posted by holfresh:
Posted by nyk4ever:
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
Amazing...Do a bad job and I give you more responsibility...You should love Isiah then...
Freudian slip? I'm pretty sure you just admitted Isiah is doing a bad job
Posted by fishmike:
Posted by holfresh:
Posted by nyk4ever:
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
Amazing...Do a bad job and I give you more responsibility...You should love Isiah then...
Freudian slip? I'm pretty sure you just admitted Isiah is doing a bad job
LOL!
Posted by nyk4ever:
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
I don't think he is going to do anything with Burress though, who some might see as a "me me" player. Without him, despite his inconsistent play, Ely would not have had some big TD and big play throws this year, with those off his back of the heals chucks that Plex grabs in the air with his hops and height.
Posted by holfresh:
Posted by nyk4ever:
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
Amazing...Do a bad job and I give you more responsibility...You should love Isiah then...
Why should I love Isiah, he already has and has had power of all personnel decisions and still brought in questionable talent. I'm willing to give Coughlin the benefit of the doubt because of his success in Jacksonville, where he had say in personnel decisions. Coughlin has next year to bring in who he thinks is good personnel and if it doesn't work out, I'll call for him to be fired. Until then, this team is filled with blabber-mouths who have stuck their tales between their legs every time they've played in a big game under this coach and under Fassel.
Coughlin gets his year, if this team is still influx at this time next year after Tom has had a chance to bring guys he wants then I'll definitely call for his head.
Posted by fishmike:
Posted by holfresh:
Posted by nyk4ever:
I predicted that Tom would be back because there were no candidates out there. These ideas that Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Bill Bellicheck were extremely far-fetched. If a viable candidate had been around, I think Tom would have been fired, but there wasn't one.
Also, I'm kinda happy that Tom is getting more say in personnel decision because I'm confident he'll keep the me-me players away from this team and bring in the team-players that are necessary to win in the NFL.
Amazing...Do a bad job and I give you more responsibility...You should love Isiah then...
Freudian slip? I'm pretty sure you just admitted Isiah is doing a bad job
Thats not Freudian for me, In "The mafia's" eyes Isiah is doing a bad job...In my eyes, he was the only one for the job of turning this mess around...
i'd much rather keep playmakers like Shockey & Plexico & get a coach who those guys can be on the same page with than a grouchy old coach who has no clue as to what's going on during a game & has to have his players pull off his earphones to tell him.
too bad he's failed to do that
let's keep the Isiah bashing to another thread guys... this is a Coughlin bashing thread. *cough*
Posted by fishmike:
too bad he's failed to do that
Jury is still out from what I see...Still lots of season left...
Posted by TMS:
anyone who doesn't think Coughlin's a lame duck coach next year is kidding themselves... a 1 year extension is a mere formality... if the Giants truly believed in this guy they'd have extended him to another 3 or 4 year deal... waiting on Cowher is all well & good, but IMO if they really wanted him they coulda thrown a boatload of cash at him right now & gotten him... he's not going to be any cheaper a year from now, i'll tell u that much right now... & you're going to have teams like the Cowboys & Redskins bidding him up at that time also instead of teams he's unlikely to go to like the Raiders.
i agree that if this nets us Cowher after next season, i'm fine w/waiting, but i think we could have him this season just the same... i don't see how keeping Coughlin here is the right decision other than the fact that the Mara's & Tisch's are so conservative in their decision making... the stuff about Coughlin convincing them that he had a plan to right the ship & to develop Eli better next season is hard for me to buy into... so he's going to get himself a new Offensive Coordinator & a new QB coach? is that any different than bringing in a fresh voice to lead this team & to get these veterans to play up to their potential this season instead of waiting a year to do it? what's Coughlin's plan to fix the defense i wonder? is he going to fire Tim Lewis too & find himself a new D Coordinator?
Not sure if that comment was addressed at me, but I agree that Coughlin is generally considered a "lame duck" since if there were better options this year the Giants surely would have pursued them, but with only one year left on his deal I meant it in the sense of someone who cannot return, no matter what at the end of his term. With that second year, unless they fire him after the season (using the end of next season as a point of reference for him being a "lame duck" in that sense) he will be back again (not counting a firing during next year).
Do I think that has a good chance of ocurring? Hecks no. But if Coughlin, by some miracle, finds a way to get the team to perform well next year, his chances of coming back again will be higher than with a one year deal. In fact, I don't think he would stand any chance of doing well next year with only a year left, given the venom many fans and media cats are spitting. And I'm one of those who want him gone, for his own venom spitting. But that scenario is probably the most difficult situation for the Giants...well more for those fans who want him gone ASAP, yet also the most unlikely.
So, yes, I don't think the one year extension is a vote of confidence, and is more like a holding pattern until better opportunities come, OR by some chance Coughlin manages to show he can do well. Look at Van Gundy with the Knicks in '99. He was a lame duck too, but Allan Houston's "shot" and the run at the Finals saved his job. If something similar happens with Coughlin, I think it's pretty darn probably he'll be back for that second year of the deal in 2008-09.
Also, I dunno how you know that Cowher would come if the Giants "throw a boat load of money at him" now. He says he's taking the year with his family. Dude has already won, and KNOWS he will be a VERY hot commodity next off-season, with the Giants and who knows who else begging for him to come. I doubt Cowher needs the gratification just yet.
[Edited by - PresIke on 01-10-2007 2:08 PM]
