Tom Coughlin’s second year as the executive vice president of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars will ultimately be considered a failure, and speculation is growing that he could end up taking on much more responsibility with the team after the season.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that there is a “growing perception around the NFL” that the Jaguars could make sweeping changes after their horrendous 2018 season, and one of them would be replacing Doug Marrone with Coughlin. While all indications have been that Marrone will get another chance in 2019 after he led the Jags to the AFC Championship Game a year ago, there are no guarantees if the team continues to embarrass itself on a weekly basis.
Coughlin enjoyed immediate success as the first head coach of the Jaguars back in 1995, including four consecutive playoff berths and two appearances in the AFC Championship Game. He then went on to win two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, likely cementing his legacy as a Hall of Famer.
La Canfora adds that Coughlin has been “appalled by some of what he has seen” this year in Jacksonville, which includes suspensions and an overall lack of discipline among players. Coughlin was seen as being tough on players during his time as an NFL coach, so you can understand why he might be tempted to restore order.
All that said, Coughlin will turn 73 before next season. While his job is probably quite stressful, it is a lot different from the daily grind of coaching a team and preparing for each and every game. It seems more likely that he would try to find another coach if he decides to replace Marrone rather than taking the job himself.
Coughlin recently became animated when defending some of the moves the Jaguars made and didn’t make during the offseason, which seems to indicate that he believes the team had the pieces in place to compete again this season. Now, he finds himself needing to replace his quarterback and potentially head coach.
