Tom Coughlin kept his job after a 7-9 season, but his reaction to firing two of his most trusted assistants shows how serious the need for change in the Giants offense was.
The Giants let tight ends coach Mike Pope and running backs coach Jerald Ingram go today, as they remake the offense under new coordinator Ben McAdoo.
“Both of these men are very good talent evaluators and, in their own way, are very good teachers,” Coughlin said, via Conor Orr of the Newark Star-Ledger. “I decided to make a change in our staff that I believe will be productive going forward. These are very difficult decisions, but I felt they were in the best interests of the Giants moving forward.”
Pope was part of all four Giants Super Bowl-winning coaching staffs, and Ingram had been with Coughlin for more than 20 years at Boston College and with the Jaguars and Giants.
But with McAdoo bringing more of a West Coast offense vibe to New York, some degree of change was inevitable.
But the bigger question might be what the moves signal for the future of the team beyond the 67-year-old Coughlin.
He’s obviously closer to the end of his run with the team than the beginning, but chipping away at guys he’s worked with for decades might also indicate the Giants are casting an eye toward the future in other ways as well.
