The NY Giants have Tom Coughlin back for 2015, but there are plenty of other issues moving forward, including whether the team will bring back Jason Pierre-Paul or Antrel Rolle in free agency and whether defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and the coaching staff will return behind Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese.
Eli Manning had a bounce back season after throwing 27 interceptions in 2013, while Odell Beckham Jr. broke out as one of the most explosive young players in the NFL. ESPN.com and other outlets reported that Couglin likely would be back for the 2015 season and the Giants announced on Monday that they asked the head coach to return. Coughlin comes back despite missing the playoffs in each of the past three seasons and now it could be playoffs or bust for New York this season.
John Mara has shown patience with Coughlin and Jerry Reese and the emergence of Beckham and some other young players has New York hopeful for the future. JPP is heading towards free agency with Rolle and they are among over 25 players hitting the market for the team. The salary cap is expected to rise in 2015 and that gives the Giants a good chance to retain a majority of those players.
Mara spoke about Pierre-Paul in his season ending press conference and he mentioned that the franchise tag could be a possibility. The Giants would like to keep JPP, but the size of the contract could be an issue, as he comes into the offseason after two disappointing years and a bounce back season in 2014. Pierre-Paul had 12.5 sacks this season after he had a combined 8.5 sacks the previous two years and the Giants are hoping that he returns to his 2011 breakout form when he had 16.5 sacks.
Pierre-Paul said that he is worth "a lot of money" and while there is a chance he could end up elsewhere, the Giants also have the option of using the franchise tag. JPP will be 26 heading into next season and he could be looking for a payday near $14 million per season, which is where Mario Williams and Robert Quinn are at the defensive end position. Rolle is another tough situation, as he is 32 years old and likely will have to take a pay cut in free agency after playing out a five year contract with the team.
The Giants went 6-10 this season after opening 3-2 and while they missed the playoffs, there is hope on the horizon. The team dealt with tons of injuries this year, putting over 20 players on IR and they lost key players Jon Beason, Walter Thurmond and Prince Amukamara for significant parts of the season. Victor Cruz was also lost for the season and that was tough for the team, although it did open things up for Beckham.
Some suggest that the play of Beckham -- who ended up with 91 catches for 1305 yards and 12 touchdowns -- helped turn around the fortunes for Coughlin, Eli Manning and Ben McAdoo moving forward. The Giants had a seven game losing streak and a bad loss to the Jaguars and at that time it looked like the future for those three was all but certain. Beckham changed the conversation and now Coughlin has another year in NY.