The former Jacksonville Jaguars coach signed a four-year contract, vowing to bring back a brand of smashmouth, mistake-free football that led New York to two Super Bowls under his mentor, Bill Parcells.
“It is a tremendous challenge, and I am looking forward to working with these players and re-establishing the New York Giants’ tradition of physically controlling the line of scrimmage,” Coughlin said. “We want to win the battle at the line of scrimmage, eliminate the disease of turnovers and control field position of special teams.”
Coughlin and the Giants finalized the more than $12 million deal on Tuesday, a day after Coughlin held his second round of meetings with the team.
Coughlin, 57, succeeds Jim Fassel, who was fired following a 4-12 season in which the Giants lost their final eight games.
“Tom Coughlin is the man we wanted 11 years ago and he is the man we wanted now,” general manager Ernie Accorsi said. “Aside from his family, Tom has one interest: winning.”
John Mara, the Giants’ executive vice president, called Coughlin “the right person for this job.”
