Eli Manning has played for one head coach during his 12-year NFL career, so you can understand why the 35-year-old quarterback became emotional during that coach’s farewell press conference Tuesday morning.
When a reporter asked Tom Coughlin how he thinks Manning will fare under new leadership, Coughlin showered the two-time Super Bowl champion with praise.
“He can handle it all. He’s done it before. He’ll handle it again,” Coughlin said. “He’s extremely bright. He’s extremeley competitive. He’s what you want a son to be made out of. He thinks he’s the reason (I’m leaving).”
Coughlin then looked right at Manning, who was sitting in the second row and very clearly fighting back tears.
“Eli, it’s not you, it’s us,” he said, his voice getting louder. “We win and we lose together. When we lose, I lose. When we win, you guys win. That’s the game. He’s gonna be right back in here in about two days starting to work on next year just like he always does.”
The relationship between Manning and Coughlin has always been very strong, and you can tell Manning feels partially responsible for Coughlin being forced out based on what he said earlier this week. In reality, it was a group effort.
If the way Coughlin seemingly snubbed Giants owner John Mara is any indication (video here), it’s safe to say the coach’s feelings for his quarterback are a lot stronger than those he has for his boss.
