Judy Coughlin, wife of former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, dies at 77
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin celebrates with his wife Judy Coughlin after winning the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 20, 2008 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Credit: Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel
Judy Coughlin, the wife of two-time Super Bowl-winning Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, died on Wednesday. She was 77.
“Judy was a remarkable woman in every way,” Tom Coughlin said in a statement. “She lived a life filled with love and unselfishly gave her heart and soul to others. Judy made you feel like an old friend from the first hug to the last. She was a mother to all on and off the field. For everyone who knew and loved Judy, the enormity of her absence cannot be put into words, but the immense kindness she showed to others will always endure.”
She was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2020, an incurable brain disorder that erodes an individual’s ability to walk, speak, think and control body movements. In 2021, Tom Coughlin wrote a poignant essay for the New York Times about his role as her primary caregiver.
“Our hearts are broken, but we know she is free from suffering and at peace with our Lord,” Tom Coughlin said in his Wednesday statement.
Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said Judy Coughlin was “an incredibly bright light for all of us.”
“We were blessed that she shared her energy, vitality and love with our organization,” they said in a statement. “As Tom has often noted, his role as head coach ended at the front porch. When he walked through the door, Judy was the boss. Our thoughts are with Tom and the entire Coughlin family.”
Judy Coughlin was instrumental in the success of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, which raised millions of dollars over decades to help support families dealing with pediatric cancer.
She had been in hospice care in Atlantic Beach, a few miles south of Jacksonville, Florida, the Associated Press reported.
Besides her husband, Judy Coughlin is survived by four children and 12 grandchildren.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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