Former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin called Odell Beckham Jr. a “distraction” and says he wants to help his former player “for his own good.”
Ex-Giants head coach Tom Coughlin may know a thing or two about what it takes to be successful in professional football. He isn’t coaching anymore, but he’s still keeping close tabs on the New York Giants, particularly Odell Beckham Jr.
While on the CBS Sports Network, Coughlin expressed that he’s seeing the spiraling Beckham situation for what it is, a “distraction.”
But he didn’t continue to pile on, as many have done recently. Beckham’s petulance has become a hot-button issue across the sporting world, and Coughlin offered his support:
“…I would love to try to help him in this regard because I think so highly of him…He is so talented. I don’t think there’s anything the kid can’t do. He is a good kid. He is a team guy in the team room. It’s just when he gets on the field, there’s only one way he knows how to play.”
-Tom Coughlin
Coughlin coached Beckham for the first two years of his career. OBJ was tops in the NFL in TD receptions over that span with 25. He’s yet to find the end-zone this season.
A Coughlin intervention is a welcomed sight to Giants fans. The team is currently mired in a mini-crisis of sorts, with current HC Ben McAdoo‘s leadership leaving more to be desired. His team has been undisciplined on the field, and offering weekly sound bytes off of it. Eli Manning joined in on the Beckham Jr. melodrama this week, after the 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.
These are things you rarely, if ever saw with Coughlin at the helm. The results speak for themselves: an under-performing offense and a team losing control of the narrative.
If Coughlin can’t reach Beckham Jr., maybe no one can. He and Beckham had a good rapport during his tenure and he’s still under contract with Big Blue so a mentor role should be easy to facilitate. Hopefully he can teach McAdoo a few more things while he’s at it.
