When the 2013 season begins for the Giants, Tom Coughlin will be 67 years old.
He'll continue to be the oldest NFL head coach in the league, but you would never know he's that old considering his passion and love for the game.
Coughlin still acts like the head coach that walked into the doors of Jacksonville 17 years ago, yelling at the referees and players on the sidelines and waking up early every morning to game-plan well in advance for all of his opponents.
It's hard to find another coach with the love and passion for the game like Coughlin, and since February of 2012, we've all wondered how much the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach has left.
It's very rare in the NFL to see a coach, much less a head coach, keep continuing at such an older age, yet Coughlin has shown no signs of wanting to hang up the whistle and headset.
However, according to Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star Ledger, Coughlin's current player and recently re-signed cornerback Terrell Thomas thinks he might not coach for much longer.
"But I think he has one more in him," said Thomas, a second-round pick in 2008 who missed the past two seasons with ACL injuries. "We have a great nucleus of guys, and I don't think he wants to give that up. That passion is still burning within him. He's in that facility all day every day; he's going crazy not being able to coach and watch film. He lives and breathes football. He has everybody in there all day, every day, in the offseason."
Currently, Coughlin is signed on as the Giants coach until the end of 2014 as part of the two-year contract extension he signed after the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI.
In his nine years as Giants head coach, the 66-year old has a 83-61 regular season record with an 8-3 playoff record with two Super Bowl championships in 2007 and 2011.
While Coughlin has expressed no interest in retiring, it would make sense if Coughlin decided to make 2013 his final season.
And if he can get one more playoff run with a potential Super Bowl run–a Super Bowl run that would have the game be played in his home stadium in February of 2014–it would make sense if 2013 were in fact the final year for the Giants head coach.
In the same interview, Thomas feels that Coughlin wants to "go out on top" and go out a winner.
So if the Giants can go on one more amazing Super Bowl run where they win their third championship in Coughlin's tenure, it would be the perfect ending to his career.
Even if that scenario doesn't happen, nobody would ever blame Coughlin if he retired, as he has nothing left to prove in his career.
He's won at every single level that he's been a head coach at: first with Boston College, then the Jacksonville Jaguars and currently with the Giants.
To go along with the winning, he's got the two Super Bowls, which has cemented his legacy with the fans in New Jersey and New York and potentially the Hall of Fame in the future.
The only thing that might really get Coughlin away from football is the lure of his family and being a full-time grandfather, something he has taken a pure love to being at his age now.
Will Coughlin retire after the end of 2013 season?
Will retirement for Coughlin mean one more Super Bowl victory and a ride down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City and a victory celebration in MetLife Stadium?
For right now, the Giants head coach definitely seems anxious to get the disappointment of the 9-7 season of 2012 in his rear-view mirror and wants to get focused and prepared for 2013.
Coughlin's status for 2013 isn't an issue, and he will be back on the sidelines coaching his team.
After that, we'll all have to see how the season plays out.
Stay tuned, Giants fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment