Tom Coughlin’s name didn’t make CBS Sports’ latest list of the 20 greatest head coaches in NFL history, and that omission is hard to ignore.
Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports asked six other CBS Sports NFL writers to rank the league’s top 20 coaches ever, and Coughlin was left off the official list. Still, he wasn’t completely forgotten.
Three of the six writers included him in their own top 20s, with John Breech and Carter Bahns both placing Coughlin at No. 19 and Garrett Podell slotting him at No. 20.
That’s a pretty clear sign that the two-time Super Bowl champion still has plenty of supporters, even if he didn’t crack the final ranking.
Coughlin’s case is built on more than just the two Giants titles he won while going head-to-head with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. He is one of 14 head coaches to win multiple Super Bowls, and his work in Jacksonville deserves its own spotlight. As the Jaguars’ first head coach, he helped guide an expansion franchise to two AFC Championship games in its first five seasons.
The list did include Bill Parcells, who checked in at No. 13.
That makes sense given Parcells’ track record - everywhere he coached, he won, and he did it at the highest level. He’s already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his place on the list was deserved.
Coughlin, meanwhile, still has a strong argument for Hall of Fame recognition of his own. He’s been on the ballot for the last three years and has reached the semifinalist stage.
maybe the committee can take a look at Eli Manning’s resume as well.
In Other News...
Giants Tight End Battle Already Hit By An Early Camp Setback
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New faces and fresh evaluations tend to move quickly once camp begins, and that makes missed time more costly for players still trying to earn trust. The Giants can afford to be patient with Fidone, but the early stretch of camp is where coaches start sorting out who can handle the details and who can be counted on when the real competition for roles heats up. [Read more 🡒]
Giants May Already Have A New WR1 Problem Brewing
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One name worth keeping on the radar is a young Texas pass catcher who has already shown enough production to draw attention from NFL evaluators. For the Giants, the appeal is not just about adding another receiver, but about finding someone who can grow alongside the rest of the offense and eventually ease the burden on a depth chart that could use more speed, durability and upside before the conversation gets much louder. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Camp Already Feels Like A Sharp Break From Recent Years
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Harbaugh also laid out how the Giants have been organizing their work since the spring, with rookie minicamp reps going to draft picks and OTAs and minicamp built around first- and second-team players handling most of the team work. He described a program that spends heavily on preparation and recovery, and one that is built around repetition and detail rather than speed for speeds sake. The result is a camp that feels less like a race through the calendar and more like a long, deliberate effort to get the structure right before the real pressure starts. [Read more 🡒]
