To succeed head coach Jim Fassell, the Giants chose Tom Coughlin, who was fired from the Jaguars after the 2002 season and was out of the league in 2003.
In a surprising move, Coughlin benched Warner, who had a 5-4 record that season, with rookie Eli Manning, who in turn lost all but one of his starts that year. Coughlin was widely criticized for the move.
However, the next season, Manning led the team to an 11-5 record and division title (their first since 2000), and the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
He even fixed Tiki Barber's fumbling tendencies, (despite what Barber's comments about Coughlin may have you believe).
2006 was when the "Fire Tom Coughlin" business began. After the Giants advanced to the postseason in 2006, and despite losing in the first round, Coughlin received a one-year contract extention, to the ire of many fans.
(Note the date under the title).
In 2007, after an 0-2 start, the Giants went 13-4 for the rest of the season, earning a playoff berth and defeated the Cowboys in the division title game after they were swept by them in the regular season. This led to an epic showdown between the Giants and Packers in the NFC Championship game, which ended on a Lawrence Tynes field goal in overtime, (still one of my favorite games!)
(Sorry to those of you who aren't Joe Buck Fans)
In one of the best Superbowls of all-time, Coughlin's Giants defeated the 18-0 Patriots, and he was given a four-year contract extension.
Although they haven't made the playoffs since, it isn't all his fault. The failed out-of-bounds punt, while not a great call, could have worked if done by current P Steve Weatherford, and the current team could still make the playoffs if they sweep the Dallas Cowboys in the season series.
In my opinion, Coughlin has been the best Giants coach since Bill Parcells (under whom Coughlin served as Wide Receivers coach during their Superbowl XXV victory run).
If anyone should be fired, Perry Fewell and Kevin Gilbride are higher on my list, and that is before you get to the players.
Their are 32 head coaches in the NFL, but only a select few are elite coaches, (Belicheat and Tomlin are a few others that certainly come to mind). Coughlin, though he sometimes may not be treated like an elite coach by the media and some of the fans, certainly belongs in that group.
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