Tom Coughlin won two Super Bowls as New York Giants head coach. He resigned more than two years ago but one of his most significant contributions continued until current head coach Pat Shurmur decided to do away with it recently.
Shurmur recently told the New York Daily News he has officially retired “Tom Coughlin Time” at the Giants’ facility. Tom Coughlin Time refers to the practice of showing up to any team meeting, practice, or event five minutes earlier than the start time of the event. Under Coughlin, Giants players and staff set every clock in the building five minutes earlier than the actual time.
When Ben McAdoo succeeded Coughlin in 2016 he kept Tom Coughlin Time and enforced it in his own way. Under Shurmur, the players will be asked to show up at the actual time if not five minutes earlier.
Shurmur was asked why he is doing away with Tom Coughlin Time.
“I just can’t function that way,” he answered with a grin. “In other words, I’m always five minutes early, but I want to know the real time. The other thing I found is OK, when you’re on the road, do you change clocks? Do you change it with the hotels? Everybody really looks to their phone for the time. So, they’re looking at that and clocks. I wanted to just simplify that. I still think right is right. We all gotta be on time. But I just wanted to make sure that all the times were the same everywhere.”
Coughlin will return to MetLife Stadium for Sunday’s regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is currently Jaguars executive vice president of football operations as well as the team’s all-time winningest head coach.
Shurmur said the change was not a slight against Coughlin.
“I have certainly heard a lot about Tom and his years here—12 years,” Shurmur said after practice earlier this week. “He helped the organization win two Super Bowls. Prior to coming here, I have a professional friendship with Tom and we’ve been able to communicate. One of the guys I talked to when I was talking to former players and coaches was Tom in the offseason.”
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL, the New York Giants, and the NBA. Please like and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
