Although new Giants coach Ben McAdoo says he’s not in Tom Coughlin’s shadow, he is keeping one of Coughlin’s signature rules alive.
McAdoo will set the clocks in the Giants facility five minutes ahead in recognition of Coughlin, who famously required players to be at all meetings and practices five minutes early.
“Thinking of a way to honor Tom, we have our digital clocks, they’re all five minutes fast, and we’re going to stick with that,” McAdoo said today. “That’s T.C. time. That’s a part of Giants culture now.”
Coughlin’s players didn’t always appreciate that part of Giants culture. Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan, in particular, said it was preposterous when Coughlin fined him for being “late” to a meeting for which he was actually three minutes early.
But the players and coaches with the Giants now have worked under Coughlin for so long that they’re accustomed to it. And they’ll keep it up, even with Coughlin gone.