JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 08: Tom Coughlin of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks on before the start of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at TIAA Bank Field on September 08, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Less than three seasons into his run as the lead of the football operation, Tom Coughlin has been fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As a second straight poor season winds down, change seemed sure to be coming for the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Wednesday night, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, owner Shad Khan got a head start by firing Tom Coughlin as executive vice president of football operations.
Coughlin did not complete three full seasons in his role as the head of the football operation in Jacksonville. Since a run to the AFC Championship in 2016, the Jaguars are 10-20 and headed for a second straight last place finish in the AFC South.
Coughlin’s dismissal comes quickly after the NFLPA won a grievance against the Jaguars. The team had mandated that injured players do rehab and see doctors at the team facility during the offseason, and fined them when they didn’t show up for said rehab sessions. In one example, now former Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler confirmed he was the player fined over $700,000 by the Jaguars.
Khan released a statement announcing Coughlin’s firing.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, plans had been for Coughlin to retire after the season. Rapoport cited the grievance ruling and fines played a role in the preemptive firing, but his presence also created problems in the locker room and drove Khan to make the move now.
Coughlin was the Jaguars’ first head coach, from 1995-2002, before winning two Super Bowls as head coach of the New York Giants during his tenure there (2004-2015). At 73 years old, his time as a coach or executive in the NFL is almost surely over.
As for the Jaguars, with two games to go in the season, attention will now turn to the statuses of head coach Doug Marrone and general manager David Caldwell.
