I wanted to revisit a “LTTE” I received on November 12from Tom M., who believes that head coach Tom Coughlin “has quit” on the team. When I read that letter, my initial reaction was, “Who here amongst us REALLY wants our managers to blow a gasket if we screw up?”
I still disagree with Tom’s suggestion that Coughlin become more animated, but I want to elaborate more on why. The way I see it, blowing a gasket is counterproductive. To me, it has direct ties to a lack of trust, and the last thing I think a team needs is to get a sense that its head coach’s confidence in them has wavered.
Look at the situation in Cleveland, where head coach Eric Mangini is being thrown under the bus by his players – Jamal Lewis this week came out and suggested that Mangini is working them so hard that come Sunday they’re not fresh. There have been other reports out of Cleveland that have questioned Mangini’s vice-like grip on the football side of things.
The results out of Cleveland pretty much speak for themselves. You can’t treat a group of grown men like children. Ranting and raving after a loss or a bad practice isn’t going to change what happened, nor is it going to fix what ails you.
Now I’m not suggesting that you look the other way or smile when your team messes up. There is a right way and a wrong way to bring unacceptable performance to an adult’s attention. Yelling, in my opinion, is not the way to do it.
Going back to the drawing board to evaluate the mistakes and search for a reason as to why the mistakes are happening and how to avoid them moving forward is the way to go, in my opinion.
I hate to draw this comparison, but I think it fits. When I receive a LTTE suggesting that the Giants make a trade, cut a player, or sign a free agent, I am disappointed because it’s easy to make these suggestions just for kicks and giggles.
It’s very easy to vent and make suggestions in the heat of the moment – I’ve done it too, so I know. However, when a person calms down, things look a lot differently.
To suggest that Coughlin start throwing hissy fits after a loss, to me, doesn’t make sense. It’s not the way to go. What he’s doing now is the way to go. He’s taking away game snaps from guys who are not living up the expectations (C.C. Brown, Danny Clark) and giving them to guys who show that they are deserving of them based on their performance in practice.
He’s also meeting with his leadership council to get their thoughts on matters that exist in the locker room. Whereas in the old days it was a case of “my way or the highway,” the changes Coughlin made in how he manages this football team have worked – just look at the last three years.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this thought. Go back and look at Coughlin’s first year as head coach of the Giants (2004) when he was more of a whip wielder. What was the team’s record?
Yep, 6-10.
