A fourth consecutive season without the playoffs and the incessant speculation about his future with the Giants might have finally gotten to Tom Coughlin.
Coughlin was non-committal Thursday when asked if he wants to return as coach in 2016, in stark contrast to his usual enthusiastic and definitive answer to questions about how long he wants to stay on the sidelines.
“Do I want to come back? I don’t know if that’s a great question right now,” Coughlin said before what might have been the penultimate practice of his Big Blue coaching career.
“What I want to do is win a game on Sunday — that’s the bottom line for this group right now,” Coughlin added. “I always have the competitive spirit, [but] sometimes it takes me a day or two to figure it all out when it’s over. Right now, let’s stick with the game and let’s go win a football game.”
The Giants are 6-9 heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium and are guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
The Giants are also the first team since the 1970 merger to miss the playoffs four consecutive seasons after winning a Super Bowl, which is why Coughlin’s job — he is signed through 2016 — is considered in jeopardy.
Coughlin, who is the NFL’s oldest coach at age 69, is 102-89 (.534) in 12 seasons with the Giants.
The uncertainty from Coughlin was notable because has regularly shot down questions in the past about his desire to continue coaching. The Giants boss has repeatedly made it clear that he is a football lifer.
“This is what I’ve always done,” Coughlin said in August 2014. “The calendar and the clock are all set by football season and the offseason. The approach for me competitively has nothing to do with age or anything else.”
Some of Coughlin’s players continued to stand up for their beleaguered coach as they all await a decision one way or the other from co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch.
Running back Rashad Jennings, who is on his fourth head coach in seven NFL seasons with the Giants, Raiders and Jaguars, was vocal in defense of Coughlin.
“[I] love him, there’s no doubt,” Jennings said. “I love Coach Coughlin. The very first thing that I noticed from him the very first day I got here [was] something he said that kind of reiterates who he is: ‘Faces may change, but expectations never do.’ I’ve always seen him lead in that way, too. He’s an awesome coach.”
Asked if a change at head coach would be understandable considering the Giants’ streak of non-playoff seasons, Jennings demurred.
“That’s outside of my pay grade or my ability to even dive into,” Jennings said.
Not all of Coughlin’s players were as effusive as Jennings about him, though. Or even effusive at all.
Cornerback Prince Amukamara, a potential free agent who has been the subject of some harsh public assessments from Coughlin over the years, was as circumspect as his coach when asked Thursday how Coughlin’s status would affect Amukamara’s desire to stay with the Giants.
“I don’t feel comfortable being as blunt or forward as I want to be,” Amukamara said. “I don’t have an answer to that question right now. I’d have to think about it.”
Coughlin said he has no plans to mull his feelings or his future before Sunday.
“I’m focused on the game, I don’t go that way [of thinking about what the emotions will be when Sunday’s game is over],’’ Coughlin said. “I’m not thinking about any of that stuff.”