Tom Coughlin facts for kids
Coughlin in 2013
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| Position: | Consultant |
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| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 31, 1946 Waterloo, New York, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Waterloo (NY) Central |
| College: | Syracuse |
| Undrafted: | 1968 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
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| As executive: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 170–150 (.531) |
| Postseason: | 12–7 (.632) |
| Career: | NCAA: 28–23–2 (.547) NFL: 182–157 (.537) |
| Coaching stats at PFR | |
Thomas Richard Coughlin (born August 31, 1946) is a former American football coach and executive. He is best known for being the head coach of the New York Giants from 2004 to 2015. During his time with the Giants, he led the team to win two Super Bowl championships: Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. Both of these victories were against the New England Patriots.
Before coaching the Giants, Coughlin was the first-ever head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He coached them from 1995 to 2002 and helped them reach the AFC Championship Game twice. Before his NFL coaching career, he was a head coach for the Boston College Eagles football team from 1991 to 1993. He also held many other coaching and administrative jobs in both college and professional football.
Contents
Early Life and College Years
Tom Coughlin was born in Waterloo, New York, in 1946. He loved sports from a young age and played both football and basketball in high school. He looked up to Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis and dreamed of playing football at Syracuse University.
Playing Football at Syracuse
Coughlin received a scholarship to Syracuse University. He played halfback for the Syracuse Orange football team for three years. He was teammates with future Hall of Fame players Larry Csonka and Floyd Little. In 1967, he set a school record for pass receiving in a single season. After graduating, he stayed at Syracuse to earn his master's degree while working as a graduate assistant coach.
Coaching Style and Philosophy
Tom Coughlin learned a lot from Bill Parcells, who was his coach when Coughlin worked as a wide receivers coach for the Giants. Like Parcells, Coughlin was known for being very strict and paying close attention to every small detail. This earned him the nickname "Colonel Coughlin."
He was famous for setting clocks at team facilities five to fifteen minutes ahead. This was to make sure players arrived early for meetings. He even fined players who were only two minutes early, saying they should have been at least five minutes early.
Journey Through Coaching
Coughlin's first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at his old school, Syracuse, in 1969. He then became a head coach for the first time at Rochester Institute of Technology from 1970 to 1973. He returned to Syracuse as a Quarterback coach and later became the offensive coordinator from 1976 to 1980.
After 1980, Coughlin moved to Boston College as a Quarterbacks coach from 1981 to 1983. While there, he coached famous quarterback Doug Flutie. After 1983, he joined the NFL as a wide receiver coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, then the Green Bay Packers, and finally the New York Giants.
While with the New York Giants, he was an assistant coach under Bill Parcells. He helped the Giants win Super Bowl XXV. Both Coughlin and Parcells led the Giants to the NFL playoffs five times and won two Super Bowl titles each.
Leading Boston College (1991−1993)
After the 1990 season, Coughlin went back to Boston College to be a head coach again. In just three seasons, he made the team a strong winner. His time there was highlighted by a big 41–39 victory over the top-ranked Notre Dame team in 1993. This was the first time Boston College had ever beaten Notre Dame.
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995–2002)
Coughlin's success at Boston College led him to become the first head coach of the new NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also had a lot of power over football decisions, almost like being the team's general manager.
During his eight seasons in Jacksonville, Coughlin led the Jaguars to be the most successful expansion team in NFL history. The Jaguars made it to the playoffs four years in a row and played in the AFC Championship Game twice. In 1996, their second year, they made the playoffs on the very last day of the season. They then surprised everyone by beating the strong Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos teams on the road. Coughlin was named NFL Coach of the Year that year.
He led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game again in 1999, after a fantastic 14–2 regular season record. This 14-win season was the most by any of the newer expansion teams for many years. However, the Jaguars lost both AFC Championship games they played in, first to the New England Patriots in 1996, and then to the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
Coughlin's Jaguars won 49 regular season games in his first five years, which was amazing for a new team. But their record dropped in the next three years, and after a 6–10 finish in 2002, Coughlin was let go by team owner Wayne Weaver. He ended his time in Jacksonville with a 68–60 regular season record and a 4–4 playoff record. Years later, in 2011, Weaver said that firing Coughlin was one of his biggest regrets as an owner.
New York Giants (2004–2015)
After taking a year off from football in 2003, Coughlin was hired as the head coach of the New York Giants in January 2004. He took over a team that had finished with a poor 4–12 record the year before.
Building a Winning Team (2004–2006)
When Coughlin joined, the Giants made a big trade to get quarterback Eli Manning. Manning struggled at first, but Coughlin stuck with him. Coughlin also helped star running back Tiki Barber fix his fumbling problem. By teaching Barber a new way to hold the ball, Coughlin reduced his fumbles greatly in 2005. Barber's performance also improved a lot.
In 2005, Manning and the Giants finished with an 11–5 record and won the NFC East division. This was the Giants' first playoff appearance since 2002. However, they lost to the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs.
The 2006 season started tough for the Giants. After a bad loss, some players openly criticized the team's coaching. The Giants then won five games in a row, but later had a difficult losing streak. Despite the challenges, the Giants secured a playoff spot in the final game of the season. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. Even with the ups and downs, Coughlin received a contract extension through the 2008 season.
Super Bowl Victories (2007–2011)
The 2007 season started with two losses, but the team quickly turned things around, winning six games in a row. They had a great road record and made it to the playoffs for the third year in a row. Coughlin led the Giants to their first playoff win in seven years against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They then upset the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers to reach Super Bowl XLII.
In Super Bowl XLII, held on February 3, 2008, Coughlin's Giants faced the undefeated New England Patriots. The Patriots were heavily favored to win. But in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history, the Giants won 17–14, giving Coughlin his first Super Bowl ring as a head coach.
After this amazing win, Coughlin and the Giants were invited to the White House by President Bush. Coughlin also signed a new four-year contract, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
The Giants started the 2008 season strong with an 11–1 record. However, after an incident involving a player, the team struggled and lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. In 2009, the Giants finished 8–8 and missed the playoffs. The 2010 season had a memorable moment when the Giants lost a game to the Philadelphia Eagles in the final seconds due to a long punt return.
In the 2011 season, despite low expectations, the Giants won the NFC East with a 9–7 record. They went on a fantastic playoff run, beating the Atlanta Falcons and then upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, who had a 15–1 record. The Giants then won the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. This set up a Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots.
On February 5, 2012, Coughlin's Giants defeated the Patriots 21–17 in Super Bowl XLVI. At the time, Coughlin became the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl. He signed another contract extension to stay with the Giants until at least 2014.
Later Years and Departure (2012–2015)
The Giants did not make the playoffs in the 2012 season, even though they started strong. The 2013 season began with a tough 0–6 record, the worst start since 1976. Despite this, the team showed resilience and improved, finishing the season 7–9. This was Coughlin's first losing record as head coach since his first year in 2004.
Coughlin's contract was extended through the 2015 and then the 2016 seasons. However, the 2015 season was difficult, with many close losses in the final minutes of games. Criticism of Coughlin grew, especially after an incident involving star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in a game against the Carolina Panthers.
On January 4, 2016, Coughlin announced he was stepping down as head coach of the Giants. The Giants finished the 2015 season at 6–10, marking their third straight losing season and fourth straight without a playoff appearance. Coughlin later shared that the Giants had asked him to resign. He was replaced by Ben McAdoo.
Executive Roles
NFL (2016)
In July 2016, Coughlin was hired as a senior advisor for the NFL's football operations department.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2017–2019)
At the start of 2017, Coughlin returned to the Jaguars as the executive vice president of football operations. In this role, he had the final say on football decisions. In January 2018, the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship for the first time since Coughlin was their head coach in 1999. His contract was extended through 2021.
However, on December 18, 2019, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan fired Coughlin. This decision came after the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) won a complaint against the Jaguars. The NFLPA had even warned players about signing with the Jaguars because of concerns about how players were treated under Coughlin.
Personal Life and Legacy
Tom Coughlin is the oldest of seven children. He and his wife, Judy, had two daughters, Keli and Katie, and two sons, Brian and Tim. Katie is married to former Giants player Chris Snee. Tom has eleven grandchildren. Judy passed away on November 2, 2022. His son, Tim, survived the September 11 attacks in 2001.
In 2009, Coughlin visited Iraq with other NFL coaches as part of a USO tour. In 2012, he received the Outstanding Civilian Service Award from the U.S. Army for his contributions to the Army community.
On November 14, 2016, Coughlin was honored by the New York Giants Ring of Honor. On November 9, 2023, it was announced that he would also be inducted into the Pride of the Jaguars. In July 2017, he received the Arents Award, Syracuse University's highest honor for alumni.
In July 2020, Coughlin was in a biking accident and suffered several injuries. In February 2023, he released his memoir, A Giant Win - Inside The New York Giants' Historic Upset Over The New England Patriots In Super Bowl XLII.
After former Giants player Antonio Pierce became the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Coughlin was hired as a consultant for the team. In 2023 and 2024, Coughlin was named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Jay Fund Foundation
Coughlin started the Jay Fund, officially called the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, in 1996 while coaching in Jacksonville. The foundation is named after Jay McGillis, a Boston College player who sadly passed away from leukemia when Coughlin was his coach.
This non-profit organization helps children with leukemia and other cancers, along with their families. It provides emotional and financial support to make their lives a little easier during treatment. By early 2020, the fund had given out over $13 million and helped more than 5,000 families.
Images for kids
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Coughlin (shown here at the New York Giants Super Bowl Ticker Tape parade in New York City February 5, 2008) has three Super Bowl Championships to his credit with the New York Giants - one as an assistant coach, and two as head coach
See also
In Spanish: Tom Coughlin para niños
