Tom Coughlin was back around Syracuse football on Wednesday, showing up at the Orange’s practice as the team works through its second week of August camp and builds toward its Sept. 5 season opener.
Coughlin’s presence carried a familiar feel for Syracuse fans. He played at the school before going on to a long NFL coaching career, and Wednesday offered another reminder of how tightly his story remains tied to the program.
A native of Waterloo, N.Y., Coughlin was a three-year letterman at Syracuse. His time in Central New York overlapped with some of the biggest names in the program’s history, including head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and teammates Floyd Little and Larry Csonka.
His connection to Syracuse didn’t end when his playing days were over. Coughlin began coaching as a graduate assistant in 1969, spent four seasons at Division III RIT, and then returned to the Orange staff from 1974 through 1980.
From there, he moved through assistant jobs at the college and pro levels before landing his first NFL head coaching role with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995. Over 20 seasons as an NFL head coach, Coughlin piled up 170 wins, which ranks 19th all-time in league history. His biggest achievements came with the New York Giants, where he won two Super Bowls.
Syracuse did not offer a specific explanation for why Coughlin attended Wednesday’s practice. Since Fran Brown took over as head coach in 2024, the program has regularly had former players and coaches around practice during the spring and summer.
The Orange will have a closed session on Thursday before reopening practice to the media on Friday. SyracuseRoundtable’s on-scene coverage is set to continue Friday at the Ensley Center, and Syracuse still has 13 more scheduled practices left in August.
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