Tom Coughlin on return to coaching: ‘One day at a time’
Former New York Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin watches Syracuse warm up prior to an NCAA college football game against Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, at MetLife Stadium. Credit: AP / Julio Cortez
Tom Coughlin said he’s enjoying his new job with the NFL, but it’s clear it is not his first choice.
Speaking at the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Gala in Manhattan on Friday night, Coughlin addressed his role as senior adviser to football operations, a title that was created just for him after his tenure as head coach of the Giants ended.
“I have really enjoyed the work I have done in terms of just going in the command room and being there throughout the Sunday games,” Coughlin said. “That part of it has been exciting. It’s the closest thing for me to the sideline, which is what I was looking for.”
And still might be when coaching openings happen again at the end of this season?
“We’ll see about that,” the 70-year-old said. “One day at a time.”
For many current and former Giants, this was their first chance to see Coughlin in a long time. He is no longer around the team or involved in day-to-day activities with the Giants. He shared warm embraces with players such as Plaxico Burress, Kevin Boothe and Henry Hynoski who showed up to support their old coach and his program, which helps raise funds for families dealing with pediatric cancer.
As for the current players, it had been so long since he’d seen Mark Herzlich that he joked about the length of his beard.
“The support of the Giants through all of the years has been fabulous,” Coughlin said. “Without the support of the Giants in the original would we ever have gotten started? Probably not.”
Was it emotional to see his former players who are current Giants, who are getting ready to play the Ravens without him?
“If you let it go there,” Coughlin said, suppressing such feelings. “Tonight is about the Jay Fund and that’s where it will remain.”
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.
