Jacksonville Jaguars Fire Coach Coughlin
siliconinvestor.com
By EDDIE PELLS 12/30/2002 11:58:26 EST
Tom Coughlin was fired Monday by the Jacksonville Jaguars after three straight losing seasons, ending his eight-year stint as coach and general manager.
Coughlin's wife, Judy, told The Associated Press that owner Wayne Weaver notified Coughlin of his firing Monday morning and that Coughlin left team headquarters shortly afterward. Weaver scheduled a news conference for later in the day.
Coughlin leaves with a 72-64 record and two AFC title game trips in eight seasons. But Jacksonville went 19-29 over the last three years and, just as importantly, attendance dwindled. The team was 6-10 this year.
No immediate word was given on Coughlin's successor. Before Weaver decides on a new coach, however, he must decide exactly how he wants the organization to be run.
Coughlin, who had two years left on his $2.4 million-a-year contract, had full control over all decisions, including personnel.
While his player moves were a mixed bag over the years, what hurt him the most in the end was that he never seemed to connect personally with his players or with Jacksonville's fans.
It was never any secret that quarterback Mark Brunell didn't get along with the coach. Player after player would leave the Jaguars and rip Coughlin for his poor people skills, his demanding practice regimen and a rigid list of rules and fineable offenses.
"After listening to the same thing over and over, you can have a tendency to shut it out," cornerback Jason Craft said Monday.
At the beginning, however, Coughlin's overbearing act worked.
The Jaguars qualified for the playoffs after the 1996 season, and on Jan. 4, 1997, Coughlin coached them to one of the biggest NFL upsets. The 30-27 victory over Denver in the playoffs still stands as the team's most electrifying moment.
The Jaguars won their first division title in 1998 and the next year, they led the league in wins at 14-2.
They defeated Miami 62-7 in the second round of the playoffs and seemed destined for the Super Bowl. But they were upset by Tennessee for the AFC championship - a humiliating 33-14 defeat at home.
Injuries derailed another run at the title in 2000. Then, the franchise spiraled into a salary cap mess from which it is still trying to recover.
Weaver lured Coughlin away from Boston College after the 1993 season with the condition that he give the coach full authority over the entire organization.
Following the lead of his former boss and mentor, Bill Parcells, Coughlin was proud of saying that he hired everyone from the players to the receptionist in the lobby. With that power came ultimate responsibility, and naturally, Coughlin's legacy is mixed.
He identified the then-unknown Brunell as the quarterback of the future. He sold Weaver on using the franchise's first draft pick on tackle Tony Boselli, an unglamorous choice that paid dividends. He picked receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell off the scrap heap, and gathered enough talent to turn the Jaguars into competitors right away.
But there were undeniable flaws, too - most notably the selection of first-round bust R. Jay Soward in 2000.
More than any single move, however, it was Coughlin's insistence - with Weaver's approval - on keeping the aging, expensive Super Bowl-contending core of his team together for two years too long that landed the Jaguars in their current mess. |
