When John Mara announced Tom Coughlin would be back in 2011, he emphasized the organization’s belief in stability.
Coughlin is paying that forward when it comes to his assistant coaches. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports that Coughlin told the media Monday that he has no designs on replacing any of the assistants from his staff after a second straight year ended without a playoff game.
He might not have plans on it, but another tweet from Vacchiano brings up the possibility that he’ll have to make a change anyway. Vacchiano reports that offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is a contender for the vacant head coaching job at the University of Connecticut. That news will likely warm the hearts of the many Giants fans who have never warmed to the play caller’s style, although the numbers don’t bear out the argument that he’s done a particularly bad job.
The same can’t be said of special teams coach Tom Quinn, however. The Giants were dismal in all phases of special teams this season, with the backbreaking loss to the Eagles standing out as a particularly awful moment. They didn’t have a hands team on the field to combat an obvious onside kick, Matt Dodge couldn’t get a punt out of bounds and then the entire punt coverage team whiffed on DeSean Jackson. It’s a bit surprising that there’s no desire to improve on Quinn, but, again, the Giants seem to believe the status quo will fix everything.