Former Giants coach Tom Coughlin is still a recurring guest at the team's facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and new head coach Ben McAdoo says he's fine with it.
"As long as Tom is around, he's a resource and we're going to welcome him," McAdoo said at the NFC Coaches Breakfast on Wednesday in Boca Raton, Florida. According to ESPN, McAdoo later added that he did not think Coughlin's presence at the facility would be awkward once players started coming regularly.
Since McAdoo would never say it and probably can't, we'll say it for him: It will be awkward. It will absolutely -- 100 percent -- be awkward. Coughlin was a player favorite whose ouster sparked more emotion from quarterback Eli Manning than two thrilling Super Bowl victories. He commanded that building from the signs on the walls to the time on the clock, which he insisted be five minutes early.
Coughlin helped build the house the Giants currently stay in, and he isn't ready to retire yet.
Earlier this month, Daily News columnist Gary Myers noted that Coughlin is using the team's facility to work out at least once or twice a week. While at the NFL Scouting Combine last month, Coughlin told Bob Glauber of Newsday that he also gets an awkward feeling when he returns to the building. He has not accepted an offer from the Giants to return as a consultant as of Wednesday, and is mulling several options in football.
"It's not as comfortable, honestly, but I don't interrupt anybody or disturb anything or disrupt anything," he said, via Newsday, back in February. "Usually I see Ben when I'm in there, and I get a workout in and visit others in the building."
There are myriad issues with replacing a legend, and McAdoo was fully prepared for the constant comparisons to Coughlin when he took over. But it's safe to say he wasn't quite prepared for this. In the meantime, he seems to be handling a difficult situation well.
