LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York
Giants Football Team upon the occasion of winning Super Bowl XLVI

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize those individuals within our midst who have contributed great-
ly to the quality of our lives by providing exceptional leadership and a
commitment to excellence; and
WHEREAS, Excellence and success in competitive sports at the profes-
sional level can be achieved only through strenuous practice, team play
and team spirit, nurtured by dedicated and outstanding coaching and
strategic planning; and
WHEREAS, On February 5, 2012, Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York
Giants led his team to victory over the New England Patriots in Super
Bowl XLVI by a score of 21-17; it was the Giants' second Super Bowl win
under Coach Coughlin; and
WHEREAS, With their victory in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants
Football Team became the first team in the history of the National Foot-
ball League to win the Super Bowl in four consecutive decades (1980s,
1990s, 2000s and 2010s); and
WHEREAS, Born in Waterloo, New York, Tom Coughlin graduated from
Waterloo High School in 1964, where he played varsity football and still
holds the school's single season touchdown record; and
WHEREAS, In the fall of 2005, Waterloo High School honored Tom Cough-
lin by dedicating their new football stadium in his name; Tom Coughlin
continues to support his alma mater with the $1,000 a year scholarships
he awards every year to college bound student athletes; and
WHEREAS, Tom Coughlin attended Syracuse University where he played
wingback on the football team in the same backfield as Larry Csonka and
Floyd Little; in 1967, he set the University's single-season pass
receiving record and was awarded Syracuse's Orange Key Award as the
University's outstanding scholar-athlete; and
WHEREAS, Tom Coughlin began his coaching career in 1969, as a graduate
assistant at Syracuse and his first head coaching job was at the Roches-
ter Institute of Technology from 1970 to 1973; in 1974, he returned to
his alma mater and served as quarterbacks and offensive backfield coach
for Syracuse before moving on to become offensive coordinator for Boston
College from 1981-1983; and
WHEREAS, At Boston College, Tom Coughlin helped the team win their
first bowl game and to win the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as Eastern
Champions in 1983; and
WHEREAS, In 1984, Tom Coughlin entered the coaching ranks in the
National Football League, becoming the wide receivers coach of the
Philadelphia Eagles; he subsequently served in coaching capacities for
the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants, where he helped lead the
Giants to their second Super Bowl victory; and
WHEREAS, Becoming the head coach of Boston College in 1991, Tom Cough-
lin turned Boston College's struggling football program into a Top 20
team, capping his career there with a win over top ranked Notre Dame and
a victory over Virginia in the Carquest Bowl; and
WHEREAS, Tom Coughlin's success at Boston College led to him being
named, on February 21, 1994, as the first head coach of the National
Football League's expansion, Jacksonville Jaguars, which became the most
successful expansion team in NFL history; during his eight seasons at
Jacksonville, the Jaguars went to the AFC Championship game twice, and
he was named 1996 NFL Coach of the Year by United Press International;
and

WHEREAS, On January 6, 2004, Tom Coughlin was named the 16th head
coach of the New York Giants; in his first three years as head coach of
the Giants, Coach Coughlin compiled records of 6-10, 11-5, and 8-8 in
the regular season, making it to the playoffs in both 2005 and 2006; and
WHEREAS, In 2008, Coach Tom Coughlin's underdog New York Giants
defeated the previously undefeated New England Patriots by a score of
17-14 in Super Bowl XLII to become the Champions of the National Foot-
ball League; it was Coach Coughlin's first Super Bowl win; and
WHEREAS, In the 2011 season, the New York Giants finished with a 9-7
regular season record and returned to the NFL playoffs for the first
time since their championship 2008 season; leading up to Super Bowl
XLVI, the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 to clinch the divisional
title and a playoff berth; and
WHEREAS, During the playoffs, Coach Coughlin's New York Giants, led by
quarterback Eli Manning, defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of
24-2; on January 15, 2012, they beat last year's Super Bowl winners, the
Green Bay Packers, 37-20; and captured the NFC Championship game with a
20-17 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers; and
WHEREAS, In a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, four years previously,
against the same New England Patriots, on February 5, 2012, the New York
Giants won Super Bowl XLVI by a score of 21-17; the winning touchdown
was preceded by a spectacular 38 yard reception by receiver Mario
Manningham on a pass from quarterback Eli Manning; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of his outstanding coaching
career, Tom Coughlin has stood constant in dignity, good grace and
humor, and has earned the respect and admiration of his players, oppo-
nents, colleagues, family and friends; and
WHEREAS, With him throughout has been his devoted wife of more than 40
years, Judy Whitaker Coughlin, who feels privileged to be a part of his
life, and rejoices in all of his successes and achievements; and
WHEREAS, Tom and Judy Coughlin are the proud parents of four children,
Keli (Chris), Katie (Chris), Brian (Susan), and Tim (Andrea), and the
loving grandparents of ten grandchildren, Emma Rose, Dylan, Shea, Coop-
er, Caroline May, Marin Elizabeth, Wesley, Brennon, Clara Amelia and
Walker; and
WHEREAS, Tom's parents, Lou and Betty Coughlin, would have been very
proud of their son's personal and professional accomplishments; and
WHEREAS, Tom's siblings, Carole Kingston, Kathleen Troutman, Patricia
Reed and Luann Coughlin, still reside in the Finger Lakes area, and
Tom's brother, John Coughlin, lives in New Jersey, and sister, Christine
Cohn, lives in Massachusetts; and
WHEREAS, In 1996, Tom Coughlin founded the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foun-
dation in honor of Jay McGillis, who played football for Boston College
and who lost his battle to leukemia at the age of 21; the Jay Fund Foun-
dation has donated more than $1.6 million to help children with leukemia
and other childhood cancers, and their families; the Fund also donates
money to support clinical and laboratory research of leukemia and other
childhood cancers; and
WHEREAS, The athletic talent and success displayed by the 2012 Super
Bowl Champion New York Giants is due in great part to the efforts of
Coach Tom Coughlin and his excellent staff; he has done a superb job in
guiding, molding and inspiring the Giants toward their goal of winning
the 2012 Super Bowl; and
WHEREAS, Sports competition instills the values of teamwork, pride and
accomplishment, and Coach Tom Coughlin has clearly made a contribution
to the spirit of excellence which is a tradition of this great Empire
State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants upon the occasion of
winning Super Bowl XLVI; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants.