Tom Coughlin reflects fondly upon his time in Jacksonville, where, as the first head coach in franchise history, he started the rag-tag operation in a trailer that was sinking into a muddy field.
On Sunday, he'll return to coach his 300th NFL game there with two Super Bowl titles in tow. Though, at 3-8 this season in New York, that will be far from the focus. Overshadowing Coughlin's visit to where it all began will be the massive question lingering about his Giants future.
Tony Boselli, Coughlin's first NFL draft pick and longtime Jaguar, thinks he saw the cautionary tale play out first-hand. He thinks getting rid of Coughlin in Jacksonville was a tremendous mistake -- and that the Giants would be "crazy" to get rid of him now.
"One of my regrets for the franchise is I think he could've been a Tom Landry, Chuck Noll type of guy in Jacksonville and stayed there forever," Boselli said, per the New York Daily News. "You talk to people in Jacksonville now, since he left he's still one of the most popular people in town. And I think for the longest time, people were like, 'Man, why did we fire Tom?' "
Instead, Coughlin went on to define the Giants' resurgence in recent years, which is why talk of getting rid of him always comes with a massive caveat.
Coughlin has one year remaining on his contract after the team extended his deal in February. His pact expires after the same season as Eli Manning's and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's, leaving the organization with a logical evaluation point.
But will fan unrest allow the Giants to make it that far?
Listening to Boselli, it's hard to deny that he makes a great point. Coughlin has executed some of the best individual coaching performances of the last decade and is one of the main reasons his team still has a pulse.
Maybe his cautionary tale is one that management will take to heart.
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