In coming days, John Mara is going to be making a decision about whether or not to make changes in the NY Giants organization. We have been arguing that there has been consistent underachievement attributable to many people who all collectively must be held accountable. Together, Tom Coughlin, Jerry Reese and Ronnie Barnes must all be replaced. Our reasons are stated as a 3 part series.
PART 1: TOM COUGHLIN
1) You are what your record says you are. Over the last 7 seasons, this has been the team record: 8-8, 10-6, 9-7, 9-7, 7-9, 6-10, 6-9. This is 55-56. The past 3 years, the record has been 19-28. So things have gotten steadily weaker. 4 years without a playoff appearance is unacceptable. The last time the NY Giants went 4 consecutive years without a playoff appearance, it was 1977-1980… the death spiral of the 70’s. That is bad company. Given that the NFC East has been so anemic in recent years with Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder doing whatever they can to destroy 2/3rds of the competition, it is even worse. Chip Kelly completely disassembled his team this past offseason, providing another low bar for Tom. Yet even the weak division has not been enough help in seeing the playoffs.
2) Slip sliding away. Over the past few years, the Old Tom Coughlin has become old Tom Coughlin. Without trying to use age discrimination, Coughlin’s decision-making just hasn’t been crisp. Occasionally we would see boob mistakes, like when Tom would go for 1 when up by 12 in the 4th Quarter instead of 2. Nowadays, we see boob mistakes left and right. Like keeping Preston Parker and cutting James Jones. The games that were mangled by poor clock management here in 2015 have been discussed by many, including this one by the NY Times. But the leadership vacuum from last week with…
3) Odell Beckham was epic. Not taking Beckham out for even a single play was as insane as Beckham’s wild aberrance. No benching for the rest of the game. Not for a quarter. Not for a series. Not for even a single play. We see players taken out for a single play automatically when they commit a personal foul. Beckham was called for 3 and could have been called for as many as 7 or more. Where was the head coach to manage this? Coughlin’s rein is slipping away, as even he did not comprehend the full situation. I guarantee that the Tom Coughlin of old would never have let that happen. No, not General Coughlin, the old Coughlin who was sharp and crisp and who knew right from wrong, good from bad. The pattern of loss of control is not a one time event either. Could you ever imagine finding out that the Offense was busy in Week 1 vs Dallas trying NOT TO SCORE and the Head Coach did NOT know this?
4) The more things change, the more they stay the same. Coughlin gets the credit for XLII and XLVI. But the two titles were shaped as much by Mara forcing Coughlin to change with listening to players more (Leadership Council) in 2007 and Afterburner in 2011. Change was generated from external sources, not from Coughlin. So when looking for changes which are needed within, it is not coming from the Head Coach.
5) As good and as bad as his Coordinators. We are often asked why the Giants are helter skelter and/or inconsistent. Our answer is that Tom Coughlin is as good and as bad as his coordinators. Amidst the losing of the past few seasons, Gilbride goes but Tom stays. Fewell goes but Coughlin stays. When is it going to just be that Coughlin goes? When is the Head Coach going to be held accountable and not just the Coordinator?
6) Threadbare Head Coaching Tree. This is not just about Coughlin’s future legacy. It also reflects precisely on why the Giants suffer today. Coughlin does not cultivate and elevate his coordinators into leaders. It is a 2009 flaw, but illustrates the point- Sheridan was so weak as a coordinator that his Defense was busy freelancing. That it could even happen to Coughlin on his watch at any time is a huge sin.
7) “Unfortunate.” Seemingly every time there is a bad game and/or bad break, we hear from Tom how “unfortunate” it was. Beatty tears his pectoral muscle, unfortunate. Giants blow another lead, unfortunate. He’s been using that word a lot in press conferences with the media, and we’d like to remind everyone that unfortunate means accompanied by or resulting in bad luck. Well, it is not bad luck, it is bad performance. Luck evens out. You make your own luck. When things are unfortunate 4 consecutive years, start looking in the mirror and confront the brutal facts.
8) Underachievement. It is kind of nauseating to have to regurgitate such awfulness, but Coughlin flat out underachieves. We see this in so many strange ways. We see the Giants play toe to toe with good teams and then blow it versus easier ones. Playing up to and down to the level of your competition means your team is good enough to play at a high level each week but it gets soft and sloppy when it does not “have to.” Last year’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was a classic example of underachievement. The Giants were 3-8, but were far the better team than the completely discombobulated Jags. The Giants came out flying, demonstrating their superiority over the dregs, and built a 21-0 lead. But the Giants would lose the game 25-24, with owner John Mara seething and ready to clean house. Little has changed since. In fact, all we have seen is the Giants blow lead after lead. So what is it? It is underachievement. Players change, coordinators change, opponents change. Coughlin’s blown games are the constant.
9) Shockey and Beckham. Both players were/are NFL stars. Both players were shot out of a cannon, making the Pro Bowl in their rookie and 2nd years. And both players morphed into divas because their head coach has not demonstrated the ability to manage these fragile elite thoroughbreds. Regular readers of this NY Giants blog know I compare Coughlin to Parcells here because it is critically important to manage these alphas to get the most out of them. Parcells was the master. Whether it was Lawrence Taylor or Keyshawn Johnson, Parcells was always in control and LEVERAGED their talents to the extreme. Shockey went rogue. Beckham is in nascent development as a rogue, with behavior that showed complete disrespect for his coach. How many of you ever saw a Parcells player go awol on him like that? Never. It didn’t get that far. Everyone knew who was in charge. The common denominator here is Coughlin. He is not equipped to manage his star. The Giants better find somebody who is or else the franchise will waist a title-maker.
10) NFL means Not For Long. This one has less to do with Coughlin and more to do with the NFL. It is a win now league. Free Agency and the 2011 CBA have created such mediocrity and parity that you have to be able to turn things around quickly. Mara keeps expecting a turnaround from Tom. Year after year he gives Coughlin another opportunity. It is time to give someone else an opportunity. Coaches become “stale.” Coughlin may have the energy to revitalize a bad franchise that is looking for an upgrade. But the Giants are a strong franchise with a stale head coach that needs to be revitalized also. The only constant is change. We have railed against the “teflon,” the tenure, the idea that you win 2 Super Bowl titles and you have lifetime employment. The continuity and loyalty arguments are tiresome when the product suffers year after year.
Summary- Coughlin has been given plenty of chances to win, albeit too many chances against a weak division. He keeps coming up short and it is time for change. We wrote this piece before the Viking game. After the latest implosion was over, Jordan Raanan wrote a piece that puts this post in stereo. Coughlin’s decisions have been poor, and now they are threatening the progress of Odell Beckham. The Giants can do a lot better. The Giants are one of the elite stable NFL franchises. Anyone who coaches football would give anything for the opportunity to be head coach of the Giants. I am sure there are plenty of great candidates.
Tomorrow- Part 2: Jerry Reese.
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