Did Tom Coughlin snub Giants co-owner John Mara after farewell speech?

The Giants took the unambiguous step of parting ways with longtime head coach Tom Coughlin on Monday.

“I said yesterday that it was not a sad day for me, or for us, for Judy, for my family”. And the man who coached the Giants to two Super Bowl titles quickly walked right on by without even acknowledging his former boss.

Coughlin was named the head coach of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995 and actually led them to the AFC Conference Championship in 1996, where they lost to his mentor Bill Parcells and friend Bill Belichick with the Patriots. They won the division the following season and shocked the football world by knocking off the then-undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl in February 2008. And sometimes we get off of our own volition, and other times they ask us to get off. And that’s true for players and coaches, owners and everybody who’s associated with the NFL. That is a tribute to our players and staff, and it was truly fulfilling to be the leader of those teams.

Coughlin kept his coaching hat on, however, right up till the end on Tuesday when he offered a pep talk to Eli Manning, who had to fight back tears in the audience.

But Coughlin showed he still had the spirit to continue despite a 2015 campaign marked by a string of close losses, including eight decided by a total of 26 points with the Giants leading until the final seconds on six occasions. So next time Tom Coughlin, next time.

The team has started a search for Coughlin’s replacement.

“Eli, it’s not you, it’s not you – it’s us”, Coughlin said. They failed to win more than 10 games in 2007 or 2011, well short of a first-round bye. He added that Coughlin was offered a job within the organization and there was no timetable to find a new coach. This isn’t just another head coach for Manning – it’s the only head coach he’s ever known at the National Football League level and his connection with Coughlin is legit.

“I think he’s done a great job, and he definitely has not failed”, Manning said. But I will remember you for helping me become a man and challenging all of us to be better husbands and fathers and men. Though one of the Giants’ most successful coaches, especially in the modern era, Coughlin’s last four teams did not qualify for the playoffs.