Jaguars to induct Coughlin into ring of honor

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tom Coughlin, the first coach in the history of the Jacksonville Jaguars, will be inducted into the franchise’s ring of honor next season.

The team made the announcement Thursday, saying Coughlin will be the seventh member of the “Pride of the Jaguars” during a yet-to-be-determined home game in 2024. Next season will be Jacksonville’s 30th as an NFL franchise.

Coughlin, 77, is the winningest coach in franchise history. He went 72-64 over eight seasons and led the Jaguars to the AFC title game in 1996 and 1999. He was fired in December 2002 after a third consecutive losing season that overshadowed his early success with the franchise. voting.

Coughlin landed with the New York Giants and managed to win two Super Bowl titles in 12 years, beating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to cap the 2007 and 2011 campaigns. Coughlin was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Coughlin will join left tackle Tony Boselli (inducted in 2006), original owners Wayne and Delores Weaver (2012), running back Fred Taylor (2012), quarterback Mark Brunell (2013) and receiver Jimmy Smith (2016).

“The Jaguars story cannot be told without Tom Coughlin and the impact he had on our expanded team and our new fan base here in North Florida,” Boselli said in a statement. “He is the prototype and the primary architect. He built our football operation and set it up for sustained success.”

Coughlin returned to Jacksonville as executive vice president of football operations prior to the 2017 season and was instrumental in helping build a team that made the AFC title game in his first year back.

TEMPE, Ariz. – Coach Jonathan Gannon warned Kyler Murray that he might not be the same old quarterback on Sunday, following a 335-day layoff due to a torn ACL in his right knee.

The Arizona Cardinals star isn’t buying it.w

“He told me that to my face and I laughed at him,” Murray said. “I understand the thought process, but every time I touch the pitch, I’m trying to do my thing. Of course, win, but do it at a high level.”

Murray – a two-time Pro Bowl selection and 2019 No. 1 overall pick 1 – about to return to game action. He is expected to start on Sunday when the Cardinals host the Atlanta Falcons.

Murray was his usual low-key self on Thursday.

“Kind of emotionless in a sense,” Murray said. “Not trying to be too high or too low. At the end of the day, we are playing football. It’s a blessing to be out there with my teammates, move around, run, walk. It’s been a long 10 months.”

Actually, it was closer to 11 months. The Cardinals had a 1-13 record in his absence.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Not many things catch New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale off guard after nearly two decades of coaching in the NFL.

Reading safety and defensive co-captain Xavier McKinney’s postgame comments that the coaching staff wasn’t letting leaders lead or listening to team leaders and captains were upset, the 60-year-old said Thursday before the Giants (2-7) practice for Sunday’s Game at Dallas (5-3).

“I mean it surprised me because it’s the first time it’s ever happened in my career,” said Martindale, who is in his 19th NFL season and 36th overall.

McKinney did not speak to reporters Thursday. In an interview with ESPN on Sunday after the Jews’ 30-6 loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas, McKinney complained that the captains were not heard.

“I think from a leadership standpoint, I don’t think they’ve done a great job of letting the leaders lead, and listening to the leaders and the captains,” McKinney said, noting the coaches didn’t no change in the situation. defensive players wanted.

“It was one of those things where you have some of your leaders, captains on defense, trying to change things,” McKinney added. “And not really hearing it.”

LOS ANGELES – This week’s “Fox NFL Sunday” pregame show will come from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, continuing the network’s tradition of going to military installations in honor of Veterans Day.

The two-hour pregame show begins Sunday at 11 pm EST. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will discuss his love for the academy and his time there, Rob Gronkowski parachuting out of a UV-18B Twin Otter aircraft at 11,000 feet live (weather permitting) and a featurette with Tom Rinaldi on football. player Hunter Brown, who died earlier this year.

The show also features Air Force Academy graduate Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who famously landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009.

Fox Sports broadcast from the Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 2019, and from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2021. It also came from military bases around the world, including Afghanistan.

The entire pregame crew of Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, Jay Glazer and Gronkowski will appear along with 1,000 Air Force Academy cadets.