Coughlin Era Begins for Giants
Upstate New York native calls hiring a "dream come true."
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

Related links - Read more about this week's game!

January 7, 2004

East Rutherford, N.J. - Tom Coughlin's first glimpses of the NFL were on a black and white television set in his family's home in Waterloo, N.Y in the 1950s. The teams most often seen in the upstate town were the Giants and the Cleveland Browns. Today, almost 50 years after he was first mesmerized by the league and the team, Coughlin was formally introduced as the Giants' 16th head coach.

"It's a dream come true," Coughlin said.

He opened his introductory news conference with a fire-and-brimstone speech in which he said, "What we must be all about right now, immediately, is the restoration of pride: self pride, team pride, the restoration of our professionalism and the dignity with which we conduct our business. We must restore our belief in the process by which we will win. We must replace despair with hope and return the energy and the passion to New York Giant football."

Throughout the conference, Coughlin returned to the values he holds sacred: discipline, work ethic, pride, responsibility, organization, commitment and focus.

"I believe that the young men who represent the New York Giants want strong leadership," Coughlin said. "They want clear and stated objectives. They want superb detail and organization. And (they want) discipline which provides us all with the courage and the confidence to win in this league in the fourth quarter.

"My job is to convince these young men that with the parity that exists in this league today, the difference is in the preparation and that our formula will earn us the right to win."

Coughlin was the Giants wide receivers coach from 1988-90, a three-year period in which the Giants posted a 35-13 regular season record, twice made the playoffs and won Super Bowl XXV. He then spent three seasons as the head coach at Boston College before becoming the first coach of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars in 1994. In eight seasons with Jacksonville, Coughlin was 72-64, including 4-4 in the postseason. He twice led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game. Coughlin was out of football in 2003 but visited four training camps and spent much of his time closely studying the NFL.

The Giants first met with Coughlin on Dec. 22, five days after it was announced that Fassel would not return. General manager Ernie Accorsi and executive vice president/COO John Mara also interviewed St. Louis defensive coordinator Lovie Smith and both of the New England Patriots' coordinators, Romeo Crennel (defense) and Charlie Weis (offense). Coughlin flew to New Jersey for a second interview this week and agreed to a four-year contract on Tuesday.

"We had four very qualified candidates, but we ended up with the conviction on Tom, so that is what we did," Mara said.

"He presented himself to me as exactly what we needed, but so did the other three people that were interviewed," said team president Wellington Mara. "The only thing they lacked was experience as a head coach, which he has."

The NFC East has become a division of great coaches. Dallas has Bill Parcells, who has taken four different franchises to the playoffs and won two Super Bowls with the Giants. Philadelphia's Andy Reid has won 46 regular season games the last four years and could lead the Eagles to their third consecutive conference title game. Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs has come out of retirement to coach the Washington Redskins. And the Giants have Coughlin, who built a four-time playoff participant from scratch.

"There are four teams in this division and really two of them are led by Hall of Famers right now," Accorsi said. "It is an all-star cast. I think we can compete."

Accorsi has always held Coughlin in high regard and his respect grew at the annual scouting combine last year in Indianapolis. Coughlin had recently been let go by the Jaguars, yet he studied the players as if he owned the first pick in the draft.

"(Coughlin) is really a man of faith and into his family, but other than that you can just see that he is all about winning," Accorsi said. "Last year in Indianapolis he did not have a job. All of the coaches were there and there were a lot of coaches doing some socializing, too. Tom always caught my eye in the past because he was always at the finish line with a stop watch and all his papers. Last year he didn't have a team and he was in the same spot. During the breaks after one of the sessions, I said 'You're incredible! You're still in the same spot, doing the same thing and you don't have a team.' He said, 'I will and these players will be in the league, so why wouldn't I be here?'"

This was actually the second time that Coughlin was offered the Giants head coaching job. After Ray Handley was fired following the 1992 season, Coughlin was the first choice of the late George Young, who was then general manager. But Coughlin chose to stay at Boston College.

"We wanted him 11 years ago and he got away," John Mara said. "When he became available this time we weren't going to let that happen. We went into this whole process with an open mind, and we saw four very qualified candidates. We would have been proud to have any one of those guys coaching the New York Giants. Tom, based on his experience, his track record, the passion he brings to the game, he was the right guy for us."

Coughlin was asked why he took the job now after declined it in 1993.

"Eleven years ago was a whole different situation for me," he said. "I had taken the job at Boston College. I had been at Boston College as an assistant coach earlier in my career. Our first year was kind of a 'find your way around and create these fundamentals and these basic values' that I am talking about today. The second year we had a pretty good football team, to be honest with you. We won some good games, but we got beat badly in a bowl game. Tennessee beat us badly and I looked at that as an indication that this team was nowhere near where I wanted it to be. I did not feel that I could leave under those circumstances."

In Jacksonville, Coughlin was responsible for all football-related decisions, including personnel. The Giants adhere to a different organizational structure, with Accorsi at the top of the pyramid. Accorsi and the head coach frequently consult John Mara, as well as co-owners Wellington Mara and Robert Tisch.

Coughlin insisted he is very comfortable being part of a decision-making team, instead of having complete control.

"I am one spoke in the wheel in the area of personnel - one voice," Coughlin said. "This system is very well established. It has been that way for an awful lot of years. There is a division of labor. Certainly I have worked within it for most of my life. In Jacksonville, I had the opportunity to have all of that responsibility. But I understand it. I understand what my job is. I am the coach and I also have one voice among many in terms of trying to decide on the direction we will go on personnel issues."

Coughlin was asked if he would have enough "control" regarding the draft and free agency.

"It is a cooperative venture, it always is," he said. "When I was here as an assistant coach I watched as Bill Parcells and George Young and Tom Boisture and Mr. Mara and the scouts decided on how the players would come off the board. I really understand the process, the procedure and I will do whatever I am asked to do in that regard."

Coughlin said his first order of business is putting together a coaching staff. He said he will speak to coaches who were assistants under Fassel, though it's possible he will retain none of them. Coughlin had hoped to speak to former Buffalo Bills head coach Gregg Williams about the defensive coordinator job, but Williams is apparently joining Gibbs in Washington. Coughlin declined to name any other assistant coaching candidates.

The new coach was also reluctant to discuss the Giants roster in general, as well as specific players.

"I am - to some degree - aware of the roster, although I need to study this team." Coughlin said. "I am also aware of the injury factor; the number of IRs and those kinds of things, which is a cancer, let's face it. It is something that has to be corrected. It is a mental thing, I believe, as much as it is anything else. But I need to delve into that roster to study it in conjunction with our personnel people, with Ernie, with John to try to come up with some ideas about my thoughts about what has to be done."

A few minutes later, when asked about the team's strength's, Coughlin said, "I haven't really studied this team. I would just be talking. I can tell you the things that must be improved, but I think you'd have to look at some of the big play potential, I think you'd have to look at perhaps some of these injured players as being guys that are talented that will make an immediate impact when they come back."

Coughlin offered few details when asked about specific players. Regarding quarterback Kerry Collins, he said, "I would like to study the tape and talk with him and then we will make some decisions." Coughlin was asked if Tiki Barber can overcome his "fumbling problem." Barber fumbled nine times in 2003, losing six. "Yes I do," Coughlin said. "I really think he can. He is a very talented young man. It is obviously something that he has to overcome, but we will help him. We are going to help him." Coughlin was also questioned how he will handle Jeremy Shockey, the emotional and sometimes outspoken tight end. "Let me talk to Jeremy Shockey before we talk about how I would handle Jeremy Shockey," he said. "I will tell you one thing, the kid has a heart and a spirit and you want to captivate that in every way you can. He is a very talented guy. I think what is important is that he recognizes that he is a pro and how other people are perceiving him."

When Fassel was the coach, Shockey made headlines for the parties he attended and the women he dated, as well as some outrageous comments. Rightly or wrongly, Fassel was perceived as a players coach who was sometimes lax on discipline. It's fair to say that will not be an issue with Tom Coughlin. The players will be accountable and work extremely hard under the new coach.

"I think there is a starting point, a foundation which has to be built and it starts there (with discipline)," Coughlin said. "I believe that if you put all of the blocks in order, it provides you with the opportunity and the confidence to know that you have paid the price, you've earned the right to win and you, therefore, have the confidence in the fourth quarter. I would like to have an opportunity to look with greater detail at this football team…to study the tape, to interview some of the players at the proper time, to make my own decisions about that."

Accorsi believes Coughlin is the perfect coach for the Giants at this time.

"I think he has a singleness of purpose and a commitment to winning, an all-consuming commitment to winning," Accorsi said. "He is just all about winning. He is not interested in the trappings of the business at all.

"I don't want to say anything that reflects on Jim. Jim had a good run here, but I think that every team needs the things that (Coughlin) represents. I don't think it's just this team. Because any team that has it and for whatever reason a coach retired, when the next one comes in you have to maintain it. If you lose it, you're not going to win and I've seen situations - experienced one - where a very, very disciplined head coach left and an easy coach took over. The team was winning, but it didn't win for long."

As he so often does, Wellington Mara perhaps said it best. Asked if some of the players might be nervous about Coughlin's hiring, Mara said, "I hope they are."

Related links - Discuss this article in the message boards

Copyright New York Giants 2003