Coughlin riled up by benching
TOM Coughlin may no longer be the coach of the Giants, but he quickly came to his former quarterback’s defense after news broke that the Giants are benching Eli Manning for the foreseeable future and will start Geno Smith against the Raiders Sunday.
“Surprised is not the word. My sentiments are totally with Eli Manning,” Coughlin said on 1010 AM Tuesday. “I love the kid.”
Coughlin and Manning were close throughout their time with the Giants. They joined Big Blue in 2004, developed a strong bond and led the Giants to Super Bowl wins in 2008 and 2012.
Coughlin, 71, resigned as the Giants’ head coach in 2016. Manning was visibly emotional and appeared to tear up during Coughlin’s press conference at the time.
In addition to expressing his bewilderment at Tuesday’s move, Coughlin also praised Manning as not only a good player, but a good person.
“He is a class act. He is a two-time Super Bowl Champion,” Coughlin said on the radio show. “He is the finest, most humblest young man in that locker room.”
Coughlin, who is currently the executive vice president of football operations with the Jaguars, said despite the Giants’ poor record this season, he is “very upset” with the decision to bench Manning.
“I haven’t followed the Giants. I know it’s a disappointing year, but my thoughts are strictly with Eli,” Coughlin said. “I’m very upset about when I heard that.”
With Manning’s future with the Giants in doubt, speculation will quickly turn as to where the twotime Super Bowl MVP will look to play out the rest of his career.
The thought of a reunion with Coughlin in Jacksonville will almost surely surface. The Jaguars have been one of the NFL’s most surprising teams this season and currently sit atop the AFC South with a 7-4 record. However, despite the Jaguars’ impressive record, quarterback Blake Bortles has continued to disappoint. The former No. 3 pick has completed just 58% of his passes this season. He’s thrown for just 12 touchdowns while turning the ball over 13 times (8 interceptions and 5 lost fumbles). With the Jaguars unlikely to secure a high pick in this year’s draft — which will result in the team missing out on top quarterback prospects Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen — a Coughlin-Manning reunion in sunny Florida may very well be a possibility.