January 4, 2016 marked the end of an era for New York football. Tom Coughlin, the 69-year-old Waterloo, New York native who had set records as halfback for the Syracuse University football team and whose Residence Advisor at the school was none other than Jim Boeheim, is deeply rooted in New York football's bloodline and culture. This past week, after accumulating 102 wins and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy twice in his 12-year tenure as the G-Men's head coach, Coughlin resigned. And with his resignation, we bid farewell to one of the last great "player's coaches" in the National Football League.
In this day and age, fans idolize NFL athletes -- parents name their kids after them and young players want to be them. They are worshiped for their highlights and praised for their attitude off the field. But most fans don't see the inner workings of the NFL as a corporation and how commercialized it has become. Behind closed doors, these players are treated like pawns and moneymakers, and the League will do whatever it can to soak up every cent that an individual player can generate. Plenty of coaches around the league fail to see the human behind the facemask, and in doing so, fail to fulfill the other half of their duties as a coach: not just molding the player into a star, but instilling life-lessons along the way.
Tom Coughlin never had an issue being an all-around coach. He maintained an intimidating aura, earning himself the nickname "Colonel Coughlin," all the while still being loved and respected by his players. Below, you can see Coughlin's farewell message to his quarterback, Eli Manning.
The raw emotion on Eli's face is indicative of the father-son relationship the two had had, and it epitomizes how a coach should treat his players.
Take notes, Chip.
Coughlin goes even further to describe what he thinks the values and ideals of an NFL coach should be and reminds everyone what coaching is really all about.
After a Super Bowl win in 2007, Coach Coughlin had this to say: "...The best part of it for me is the idea that this group of young men, who came together and believed in themselves, bought the team concept completely, took the names off the back of the jerseys, checked the egos at the door." Tom's first priority as an NFL coach was to groom these young men into adults, teach them integrity, work-ethic, and selflessness. The talent was already there, but he believed that once each player put the team before themselves, great things would happen -- and he was right.
The National Football League is running out of coaches like Tom Coughlin, and it is sad news. Hopefully, the players he's coached along the way will bring along his teachings and values to the next generation of head coaches, or, perhaps, this won't be the last we see of the Colonel.
