Tom Coughlin Does Not Intend To Retire

Shad Khan fired Tom Coughlin from his post as Jaguars executive vice president earlier Wednesday night, doing so after initially planning to remove him from the role at season’s end.

Coughlin does not intend to retire. His agent, Sandy Montag, told ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (Twitter link) “The only thing I would say is there is plenty of football left in Tom Coughlin.”

As head of football operations for the Jaguars for the last three years I was responsible for all things related to football,” Coughlin said in a statement (Twitter link via Mortensen). “I take great pride in our accomplishments, especially in 2017. I’d like to thank Shad Khan for the opportunity to come back to Jacksonville, all the players and staff for their efforts and the fans here for their support.”

Coughlin took one season off, 2016, after his Giants tenure ended after 12 seasons. The Jaguars rehired him in January 2017. They went 10-6 and made an unexpected run to the AFC championship game in 2017 but have gone 10-20 over the past two seasons. The extensive grievances filed against the Jaguars during Coughlin’s tenure, and an arbitrator’s ruling in favor of the NFLPA on Monday, likely accelerated Coughlin’s departure.

The Jaguars’ head coach/de facto GM from 1995-2002, Coughlin went on to win two Super Bowls with the Giants. Coughlin, who briefly served in the NFL’s football operations department in between Giants and Jags stays, was a candidate for the head coach position Doug Marrone received but instead became the team’s executive VP. Coughlin initially hoped to coach in 2017 and may want to return to such a role, but at 73, he’s far older than any NFL HC ever hired.

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