UPDATE (Thursday, 3:45 p.m.): Pro Football Talk received a statement from NFLPA President Eric Winston regarding Tom Coughlin’s comments on the Jaguars’ offseason training program:
“Our CBA definition of voluntary is the same as the actual definition of voluntary, and prohibits anyone from threatening players to participate in voluntary workouts. This is precisely the reason players negotiated strict work rules and bright lines when it comes to offseason activities. We know, from experience, that not all coaches and executives will adhere to them and we always pursue any violations to protect our rules.”
UPDATE (Thursday, 1:56 p.m.): ESPN reports Tom Coughlin targeted a pair of Jaguars players - cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Telvin Smith - during a four-minute speech to the team on Thursday. Ramsey and Smith are the only two players opting to skip the early part of Jacksonville’s offseason workout program.
“We’re very close to 100 percent attendance and, quite frankly, our players should be here building the concept of team, working hard side-by-side, constructing our bond of togetherness, formulating our collective priorities and goals,” Coughlin said. "Success in the NFL demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of team. The hard work that many try to avoid is the major building block for the development of an outstanding football team. It’s not about rights and privileges. It’s about obligations and responsibility and the question is: Can we count on you?”
Former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin could be in trouble with the NFL and the NFLPA following his comments this week.
It all started when Coughlin, now the Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president of football operations, spoke to the team’s website about the beginning of the offseason workout program. Coughlin said, “We’re close to 100 percent attendance -- and quite frankly all of our players should be here.”
Problem is, the workouts are completely voluntary.
Pro Football Talk reports the NFL declined to comment on Coughlin’s remarks. But according to the collective bargaining agreement, it’s pretty clear Coughlin’s words may have crossed a line:
From Article 21, Section 5(a): “No Club official may indicate to a player that the Club’s offseason workout program or classroom instruction is not voluntary.”
The NFL Players Association hasn’t answered Pro Football Talk’s request for a comment. But the web site notes this isn’t Coughlin’s first attempt to circumvent the CBA.
In 2017, the union pushed back twice against aggressive efforts by Coughlin to skirt the rules, from requiring players to submit to physicals to attempting to start the offseason program earlier than allowed.
PFT also notes that Coughlin’s loose interpretation of the rules goes back more than a decade:
When he became Giants coach in 2004, the late Gene Upshaw (who served for years as NFLPA executive director) put Coughlin “on notice” regarding the voluntary nature of the offseason program.
“We don’t care if they get a new coach,” Upshaw said in May 2004. “He has rules, we have rules. If he doesn’t want to live within our rules, we will get him.”
Coughlin resigned as Giants head coach following the 2015 season. He returned to Jacksonville in 2017, having served as head coach there from 1995-2002. In his first year as a Jaguars executive V.P., the team made a surprising run to the AFC Championship Game. However Jacksonville stumbled to 5-11 last season and dumped quarterback Blake Bortles, replacing him with former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who was MVP of Super Bowl LII.
Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.