Tom Coughlin on the Hot Seat?

After the 3rd week, it looks as if there is trouble brewing at the Meadowlands. The Giants just lost their 2nd straight game, and the loss was ugly; filled with personal fouls, turnovers and lackadaisical play where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against the Tennessee Titans. Last week, the loss against the Indianapolis Colts was equally as ugly, however, the Colts are a far better team than the Giants this season. Fans and sportswriters are wondering what the heck is going on. Vultures are already starting to circulate around the New Meadowlands Stadium and many are predicting that this will be Tom Coughlin's last season with the Giants (after this season, he has one more year on his contract), as a result of this season and last season's implosion.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a huge fan of Tom Coughlin. He comes from the Bill Parcells school of coaching, which contributed to bringing the Giants two Lombardi Trophies after Super Bowls XXI and XXV. Coughlin made sure his players were disciplined and with that discipline, the team was rebuilt, which was left a mess in the final years of Jim Fassel's tenure with the Giants. The media piled on Tom Coughlin because of his authoritarian ways as they did in Jacksonville (which was the most successful NFL Expansion franchise), Tiki Barber tried to get the guy fired while crying from the sidelines, "He was mean and made me retire," but in the end, it was Tom Coughlin who led that team and brought the best out of them so they brought home the Lombardi Trophy after the 2007 season, in a season where they were playing the undefeated New England Patriots, who were gunning for football immortality in Super Bowl XLII. I was very happy to see Michael Strahan has weighed in, defending his former coach and talking how he transitioned from an authoritarian to a positive reinforcer, which helped them to win the Super Bowl. Has he become too loose since? Considering his rebuke of Hakeem Nicks, I wouldn't call him a full-on players' coach yet. Steve Politi at the Star-Ledger also agrees that the Giants' slump doesn't stem from Tom Coughlin's coaching, although he does implicate GM Jerry Reese, to which I agree in his lack of success in the draft, sans Hakeem Nicks, and priorities in building the team. But back to Tom Coughlin. He is not only a strong leader and good leader on the field, but off the field as well, with his founding and active participation in the charity, the Jay Fund.

I know there are some Giants fans asking would we be better off with Bill Cowher and while he has done amazing things as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Giants would be wise to stand by Tom Coughlin. As I had previously stated, I believe loyalty must be practiced, as opposed to the "what have you done for me lately" attitude that exists in the NFL these days. Giants fans must remember that it is Tom Coughlin who coached the Giants to a Super Bowl Championship, cured Tiki Barber of his fumble issues and mentored Eli Manning into a star quarterback.

If we remember, the 2007 Season got off to a rocky start. Coughlin then started the player's forum where the leaders of the team acted as the ambassadors between the coaches and the younger guys on the team. They started to win and the rest was history! The veterans on the team, as Strahan stated, need to step up and be a force in the locker room that will set the example. Maybe this will save the season...and Tom Coughlin's tenure with the Giants.