Tom Coughlin guided the New York Giants to two Super Bowl Championships in five years, but after an 0-6 start, a 7-9 finish and placing third in the NFC East in 2013, his name has come up in the rumor mill of coaches that may be fired. Coughlin was in no mood to speculate about his future following the team's 20-6 victory over the Washington Redskins to close out the season Sunday.
"Don't ask me that," Coughlin told reporters asking about whether or not he believes he'll be back in 2014, according to ESPN. "I'm not answering that type of question right now. There'll be an evaluation of everything, I'm sure, and we'll go from there."
The Giants fell below .500 for just the second time under Coughlin, the first coming in his debut season in 2004 when the team went 6-10 and finished second in the division. The team missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
ESPN reports that Coughlin is likely to meet with ownership and management about his future, his coaching staff's future and the Giants overall plan for 2014 in the coming days. According to ESPN, general manager Jerry Reese and owner John Mara did not speak with reporters after the Giants victory on Sunday to give insight to their plans going forward, though Reese is expected to address the media Monday.
Despite an 0-6 start, the team never gave up under Coughlin and was able to win seven of their final 10 games to close out the season. Mara and Reese were reportedly happy with the way the team responded to Coughlin and how he guided them to a bit of a turnaround this season.
Coughlin, 67, has one year remaining on his contract and since he is the oldest NFL coach he always has the option of retiring, which very much could become a possibility. While ownership has the final say, Coughlin at least has the respect and support from the players he has coached.
"I'd be very surprised," free-agent defensive end Justin Tuck told ESPN when asked if he thought Coughlin might get fired. "Shocked. You tell me somebody who does it better than he does."
Antrel Rolle shared the same sentiment.
"I want him back. I wouldn't want to play for anyone else," Rolle said via ESPN. "He's an outstanding coach and more of a phenomenal person. This is exactly what we need in this locker room. I think it's been proven. We just got off to a real slow start. It had nothing to do with coach Coughlin. We got off to a real slow start and we started picking it up as time went on. It's not my call to make, only thing I can hope and wish for is that he'll be back."
While many coaches will be fired on NFL's "Black Monday," it remains to be seen if Coughlin's' tenure in New York is over.
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