In what may be his last pre-game press conference as the head coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin was, well... Tom Coughlin.
Coughlin was concerned, first and foremost, with the game still in front of them. His opening statement stressed the importance the divisional game, praising the Eagles' special teams and offense. He also praised Philly's defensive front, though he wondered how their defense could be ranked so low -- 29th in the league -- with such an athletic and talented defensive front.
Coughlin's stated goal for the Giants to be solid in all three phases of the game -- which he acknowledged as rare this year -- not beat themselves, and ultimately split the division series with each of the other three NFC East teams.
When he opened it up to questions, the media members present had other things on their mind than the game at hand.
Namely, the firing of Chip Kelly and Coughlin's own future.
On Chip Kelly
Tom Coughlin immediately responded that he hates to see anybody to lose their job. He also added "Quite frankly I was... I'm not surprised by anything in this business, but that was close". Coughlin also said that he doesn't believe that the firing of Kelly will effect the Eagles' offense, that they practiced and will continue to run their system for the last game of the season.
On his own future
Predictably, Coughlin wasn't concerned with his future, saying that he hadn't talked to John Mara about his future and wants the team to focus on beating Philadelphia.
Asked whether his situation would be a distraction to his players, Coughlin related that he said to the team "Don't worry about me or my situation. Let's prepare ourselves to play an outstanding football game, and try to win a game against the Philadelphia Eagles team" He added "Hopefully when you ask them those questions, they'll say that they are focused on preparing for the Philadelphia Eagles and leave it at that."
Coughlin later said that he is focused on winning the game in front of him, saying "To be honest, this is the sixteenth game of the season, and that is where I'm focused on. I won't let myself go in those other directions because we have a job to do, and that's what we're going to do. All these other issues will clear up in time and not before then."
Other notes
When the reporters got around to asking about the team and upcoming game, Coughlin reported that Odell Beckham hadn't yet spoken to the team, and was in fact very quiet in meetings.
He wouldn't commit to activating rookie defensive end Owa Odighizuwa from the short-term injured reserve, but did say that he is healthy enough to play, and had been practicing with the team for the last two weeks. Coughlin also expects to have Jason Pierre-Paul active despite the ankle injury he suffered on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Watch the whole press conference
WATCH: Coach Tom Coughlin previews the Eagles and talks state of the #Giants heading into Week 17 https://t.co/LjP3vBtJcH
— New York Giants (@Giants) December 30, 2015