The Coughlin Factor Becomes Exaggerated Storyline
- Published
When the Steelers were upset by the Jaguars, one terrific story angle went out the window: James Harrison playing against Pittsburgh, the team that cut him.
That would have been great. The Steelers ripped Harrison on his way out the door after he signed with the hated Patriots. Harrison is not exactly a shrinking violet and the back-and-forth prior to (and during) the game would have been colorful.
Alas, it was not to be.
Unfortunately, another storyline was manufactured when Jacksonville stunned many by defeating Pittsburgh to advance to the AFC Championship game and a date Sunday with the Patriots in Foxboro.
Tom Coughlin, Tom Coughlin, Tom Coughlin.
Enough!
Coughlin is Jacksonville’s executive vice president of football operations. He’s been on the job for just over one year and he’s been given a lion’s share of the credit for the Jaguars being one of the last four teams standing.
Coughlin is best known, of course, for being the head coach of the New York Giants and for going 2-0 against the Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl action.
The story angle goes that Coughlin knows how to beat the Patriots in the playoffs and that he will give his coach, Doug Marrone, the winning game plan.
Sorry. Not buying it.
Coughlin hasn’t coached in the NFL since 2015 and some Giants fans will say he stopped coaching prior to that.
Consider that Coughlin’s last four Giants teams failed to qualify for the postseason. It’s tough to produce any playoff magic when you don’t make the cut. Coughlin left the Giants after going 7-9 in 2013, 6-10 in 2014 and 6-10 in 2015.
Coughlin was a terrific college coach at Boston College and an excellent pro coach. But his Hall of Fame credentials were given a major boost due to two February wins and his alleged mastering of the Patriots.
In 2008, he could thank David Tyree’s once-in-a-lifetime catch against his helmet for preventing the Patriots from completing an undefeated season. In 2012, he left the field a champion again after Eli Manning completed a ridiculous throw to Mario Manningham along the sideline to nip the Pats.
Coughlin figured out the Patriots in those two games. You hear it all the time. The formula seems simple. Be able to rush Brady with just four defenders and drop the other seven into coverage.
Hmmm. If it was so easy, how come few teams have been able to shut down the Patriots over the last six seasons since the Giants’ second Super Bowl? Coughlin didn’t invent the wheel when he let loose defensive linemen like Michael Strahan to get after Brady.
If it were so simple, why did Coughlin go 19-29 over his final three seasons with the Giants?
The Patriots may get beat Sunday. The Jaguars are loaded on the defensive side. Their line, led by Calais Campbell, is powerful and strong. Their linebackers, led by Myles Jack, are extremely athletic. Their defensive backs, led by Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, may be the best in the NFL.
Brady may struggle to put up points. The Patriots may stumble two games short in their attempt to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span for the second time in franchise history.
But it won’t be because of a 71-year-old guy up in the visiting owner’s booth who used to coach the Giants and Jags.
Follow Barry Scanlon on Twitter@BarryScanlonSun