GAME REPORT – Jaguars vs. Giants

December 4, 2014
2 mins read

Photos by Fran Ruchalski

Twenty-one years old.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans, your team is officially old enough to join you in the Bud Light Party Zone for a cold one.

Kidding aside, the Jaguars did celebrate the 21st anniversary of becoming the 30th NFL franchise (two more teams have since been added to the league) Nov. 30 against the New York Giants.

The Jaguars did receive quite the birthday gift, in the form of a come-from-behind victory over the Giants. It was also a homecoming of the Jags most successful coach in its short history, Tom Coughlin.

Coughlin may not be thrilled, but his team did give up a 21-point lead to the Jags, eventually falling 25-24, thanks to Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee’s 43-yard field goal with just a few ticks left on the clock. The Jags and the fans couldn’t have asked for a better way to bring in the 21st year.

At halftime, the Jaguars brought out some former players, ones who played for Coughlin back in the teams’ early years.

Names like Jimmy Smith, Kennan McCardell and Fred Taylor were announced to the crowd, which was the only thing worth cheering for at the point of the day.

Those players thrived on Coughlin’s teams in the 90s and the first few years of the 21st century, reaching the AFC Championship game twice, one of those (1996) being the Jags second year of existence.

After reaching the AFC Championship game again in 1999, when the Jaguars had the league-best record of 14-2, the wave the Jags had ridden its first five years finally came crashing down. Three losing seasons later, Coughlin would be fired.

The coach did find success with his next, and current team. It took a few years of rebuilding the Giants, but judging from the team Coughlin helped build in Jacksonville, he was the right man for the job.

Coughlin would go on to lead the Giants to two Super Bowls wins, reaching the big game that eluded him a few times when he coached the Jaguars.

Yet, Coughlin hasn’t really found much success against the team he helped start. He did leave Jacksonville with a win his first trip back the EverBank Field in 2006, and losing the last two, including Sunday’s matchup.

His 68-60 record as a Jaguars coach still leaves him as the only coach in team history with a winning record.

Coughlin still has ties to Jacksonville too. His Jay Fund is still active in Jacksonville and he still owns a home in Atlantic Beach.

When fans look up at the Pride of the Jaguars, where some of the names of Coughlin’s best players from Jacksonville, such as Taylor, Mark Brunell and Tony Boselli, grace the inside wall that splits the upper and lower levels of the stadium, one could wonder if, when the coaching career of Coughlin comes to a close, his name will be added to that list.

After all, he did lead the team through its best years.

Current Issue

SUBMIT EVENTS

Submit Events

Advertisements

Welcome to Rockville 2025
SingOutLoadFestival_TheAmp_2025
omaha-steaks-banners

Date

Title

Current Month

Follow FOLIO!

Previous Story

ART IS NOT PORN

Next Story

REALLY HIGH

Latest from Football

April Sports Listing

April 1-2  Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp vs. Worcester Red Sox VyStar Ballpark milb.com/jacksonville April 4 Jacksonville Icemen vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena jacksonvilleicemen.com April 5 The Run Home 5K Fishweir Brewing Company 1stplacesports.com Captain Chuck Cornett Navy Run 10K and 5K NAS Jax 1stplacesports.com

December Sports Listing

Dec. 1 Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans EverBank Stadium jaguars.com Guana 50K and 12K Trail Races The Guana Research Reserve 1stplacesports.com Dec. 3 Jacksonville Icemen vs. Orlando Solar Bears VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena jacksonvilleicemen.com Dec. 5-6 Jacksonville Icemen vs. Florida Everblades VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena jacksonvilleicemen.com

Florida Georgia for Dummies

Words by Lorelei Belanger College football rivalries run deep, especially in the South. One of the biggest rivalries is between the University of Florida (UF) and the University of Georgia (UGA). Most people, even non-football fans, know about the annual game, held at EverBank Stadium, right here in Jacksonville. Many

The Holy Punt

Collegiate Football Program Comes to Jacksonville Community College Words by Carmen Macri Jacksonville recently welcomed its very first community college football program at Jacksonville Athletic Academy Christian College, which is huge news for the city. Necho Carroll and his brother first launched the program in early 2021 aiming

The Digital Age of the NFL

Words by Quinn Gray (Gray’s Gridiron) Upon your first step into any stadium, sports bar or tailgate, chances are the first words you’ll hear buzzing around you aren’t about fans cheering for their favorite team, but rather sports fans chatting about the performance of fantasy teams or projections for
July 5th Cleanup
GoUp

Don't Miss

Throwbacks, Tanks and Trevor’s 25th

Words by Quinn Gray (Gray’s Gridiron) and photos by Sam

Jaguars Trampled by Bills 47-10

Words by Ka’Desh Edwards and Photos by Carmen Macri With