Don’t get confused: Tom Coughlin is not the coach of the Jaguars. He just inhabits what had been the coach’s office at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, maintains a coach’s diet of meetings and film sessions, wields a coach’s glare at practices and is generally addressed as, well, Coach. And on this midsummer’s morning Coughlin is displaying the endless vigor necessary to succeed at the job he doesn’t have.
The 71-year-old executive vice president of football operations is explaining how he got here. And while his voice stays controlled, his right hand repeatedly pounds the table in front of him, emphasizing the key moments of his journey.