The Jacksonville Jaguars hit the football world with a bombshell after announcing the firing of Tom Coughlin. Though it was expected he’d eventually part ways from the team, owner Shad Khan decided to cut ties early as the NFLPA called the team out recently in a statement.
The Jags’ first head coach and former executive released a statement through ESPN’s Chris Mortenson Thursday evening. As expected, he took full responsibility for their issues on the football field and thanked the organization for bringing him back.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) December 19, 2019
While a lot of fans rightfully wanted Coughlin gone, there is no doubt he means a lot to the local fanbase, city, and organization. Clearly, he shares those sentiments although his tenure didn’t go well and there were philosophical differences with some of the fanbase.
Coughlin was named the team’s inaugural coach in 1995 and was fired by former owner Wayne Weaver in 2002. While coaching with the team, he accumulated a record of 68-60 in the regular season and a 4-4 playoff record. He was able to lead them to two AFC Championships (1999 and 1996) but ultimately lost both.
In 2017, Coughlin was brought back to the organization as the team’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations and aided them to immediate success as they were able to go to the AFC Championship. However, they fell short one game of the Super Bowl after being defeated by the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to lead the Jags to further success as the team went 10-20.
With him being a significant piece to the organization’s history, it’s unfortunate he couldn’t propel the Jags to the storybook ending some had hoped for. However, through his charitable work, most notably the Jay Fund, it appears he will still be heavily involved with positively impacting the Jacksonville community.