John Mara wasn’t sure if Tom Coughlin was really close to becoming the next head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. But he sure was glad he didn’t have to find out.
“I’m not going to lie, it would’ve bothered me a lot,” Mara said, when asked about the possibility of seeing Coughlin as coach of the Eagles. “It would’ve been like watching Bill Parcells walk out onto the field with a (Dallas) star on his shirt. That was tough to see at the time. That would’ve bothered me.
FOLLOW THE DAILY NEWS SPORTS ON FACEBOOK. “LIKE” US HERE.
“I want him to be happy, but I certainly didn’t want to see him happy in green.”
Coughlin was apparently being seriously considered by the Eagles, but he withdrew from consideration on Thursday. A source had indicated one reason was because the Giants wouldn’t let him take any of his old assistants with him. But Mara denied that saying, “As a general rule, if somebody doesn’t want to be here, they’re free to go.”
Regardless, with only one head coaching job open, in Tennessee, it now seems likely that the 69-year-old Coughlin won’t be coaching in 2016. That means he could return to the Giants as some sort of consultant — a job Mara offered him last week when he agreed to step aside.
Coughlin was actually in the Giants’ offices on Friday morning working out, Mara said, but they hadn’t discussed any specifics or whether Coughlin is still interested in a consulting job.
New coach Ben McAdoo said he wouldn’t mind having his old boss as a resource. “Obviously any time I have a chance to bounce ideas and talk to Tom, it would be great,” he said.
Really, for the Giants, it would be great having Coughlin anywhere except Philadelphia. Seeing him wearing a green Eagles cap would have been tough.
“Yes, it would have,” Giants co-owner Steve Tisch said. “I see Tom in blue and red.”
Not that Tisch thinks the Giants should have kept Coughlin as head coach. He indicated Friday that he agreed with Mara that Coughlin’s time had come to step down, and added that “three or four disappointing” seasons in a row were a “factor.”
With EBENEZER SAMUEL
Football Rss Article only
The post John Mara: Coughlin in Philly was for the birds appeared first on Sports Report.