Tiki Barber and Tom Coughlin were never best friends, and they never will be. The Giants head coach and his former running back did not get along during their three seasons together in New York. That icy relationship has continued since Barber retired in 2006.
And it probably won’t help that Barber is now calling for Coughlin to be fired.
“I’ve held off on saying it, but it is time for (the Giants) to make a change at head coach,” Barber said Monday on The Beast 980 radio in Los Angeles, per Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. “The Giants players are not listening to Tom Coughlin anymore.
“As much as they want to pass the buck and blame the offensive coordinator, the team got rid of Kevin Gilbride and brought in Ben McAdoo. Now they say it’s the defensive coordinator’s fault, so maybe it’s time to get rid of Perry Fewell. At some point, it trickles uphill and it has to be Tom Coughlin’s responsibility.”
Coughlin, 68, is inching closer to retirement. His team is 3-7 and is likely going to miss the playoffs for a third straight season since winning the Super Bowl in 2012. That said, he is no stranger to people calling for his head.
There were times during both of the Giants’ championship seasons when people thought Coughlin should be fired, and he still maintained the respect of his locker room and got the most out of his teams in the playoffs. I’m not saying that will happen this year, but Coughlin has earned the benefit of the doubt.
And remember, Tiki’s comments come from a guy who supposedly had newspapers thrown in his face by Coughlin. Barber reportedly tried to reconcile with Coughlin a few years back and was turned down. Consider the source.
