In an interview with Bleacher Report, Thurmond was asked to compare the three coaches. And, in doing so, Thurmond revealed that one of the two older coaches does not believe in "modern medicine."
According to Thurmond, that coach is Coughlin, who coaches the Giants -- a team that has been ravaged by injuries in the last two seasons.
This is what Thurmond told Bleacher Report about Coughlin's old-school ways:
"Coach Coughlin is the same type of person, but we battled through injuries last season. Yes, he's a little old-school, but he's starting to come around to the times. He doesn't believe in the sport-science aspect like Coach Carroll or Coach Kelly and the newfound technology for the players. His style takes a hit, because he doesn't believe in this aspect. He believes in winning, but he doesn't believe in the modern medicine to progress the players to that next level."
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Of course you'd never believe anything negative about the Giants. Only good rumors and hearsay are believable.
What did Thurmond say that was so controversial? You would think he called TC a racist or something. All he said was that he does things differently than Carroll and Kelly and that he doesn't seem to really buy into the whole sports science thing. Woah, lets tar and feather this hooligan.
The idea that TC is at all irresponsible with the health of his players is a huge jump to make.
The idea that Tom handles how his players are medically treated is ludicrous. That's a franchise-level decision.
And the idea that even if the above two were true, in an era where players more than ever are coming face to face with health concerns, only Walter Thurmond had the guts to be the hero whistleblower, is even more hard to believe.
Eric, no, Parcells was not old school in the least re strength and conditioning. His strength and conditioning head coach, Johnnie Parker, was using Soviet Block training methods, the most radically modern sports science stuff available then. The Giants were prolly among the most juiced teams in the league. They looked pumped up compared to others, as I recall.
That definitely happened to this franchise in the late 60s and 70s. Teams like Dallas lapped us when it came to implementing computer tecnology and running our draft process. Pretty sure anyone connected to the Mara family remembers.
As others have pointed out, Coughlin is not a bleeding edge type of guy. He doesn't want to waste time with superflous stuff. OTOH he is as detailed a leader as there is. Interested in any possible edge others might get or he might get in competition with them.
Not a luddite. But he doesn't have to run this aspect of the Giants business either. The Giants will hire young, progeressive trainers, nutritionists, etc. if they see a possible benefit. Based on what we've seen in the recent past, I bet they all ready do.
That definitely happened to this franchise in the late 60s and 70s. Teams like Dallas lapped us when it came to implementing computer tecnology and running our draft process. Pretty sure anyone connected to the Mara family remembers.
As others have pointed out, Coughlin is not a bleeding edge type of guy. He doesn't want to waste time with superflous stuff. OTOH he is as detailed a leader as there is. Interested in any possible edge others might get or he might get in competition with them.
Not a luddite. But he doesn't have to run this aspect of the Giants business either. The Giants will hire young, progeressive trainers, nutritionists, etc. if they see a possible benefit. Based on what we've seen in the recent past, I bet they all ready do.
Parcells teams didn't seem to get as many injuries as other teams across the league from what I remember.
He signed in March 2014 and was put on IR in September. How many practices did he go through here? 30?
Players talk. Perhaps while on IR, he talked to others that are on IR and that's what they told him, and so now in the interview he is repeating it.
The idea that TC is at all irresponsible with the health of his players is a huge jump to make.
The idea that Tom handles how his players are medically treated is ludicrous. That's a franchise-level decision.
And the idea that even if the above two were true, in an era where players more than ever are coming face to face with health concerns, only Walter Thurmond had the guts to be the hero whistleblower, is even more hard to believe.
Hammer pegs it! Tom leaves this stuff up to the medical team. Knowing Tom, he probably just hasn't seen enough substantial evidence in the benefits of some of this modern medicine stuff to speak highly of it. It doesn't mean he is telling the medical team not to employ any of those methods. He leaves this stuff up to them and he'll be the first to tell you he's not qualified to make those decisions.
It happens every summer.
Even Mara said they were behind with training and strength and condition but he has invested money recently into fixing the issue. Why the hell are some acting like this is new info about Coughlin in this thread and something unreasonable.
There have been threads calling for Ronnie Barnes and Jerry Palmieri's heads.
From the link below on Adjusted Games Lost (AGL):
"Then we have the Giants, looking to put together an injury dynasty. After setting the benchmark with 141.3 AGL in 2013, the 2014 club has the second-worst AGL on record at 137.1. Running back and defensive back remained two major problem areas despite new roster additions, but wide receiver was also hit hard, as were the linebackers."
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Parcells was pretty old school, right? We didn't seem to have these issues when we were "old fashioned".
Parcells teams didn't seem to get as many injuries as other teams across the league from what I remember.
Two completely different eras, you can't compare the two. Pro sports has changed a ton in 15-20 years.
Simply, what Thurmond said doesn't bother me either way and I don't know if it is true or not.
All I do know is that the injury history with this team needs to be red flagged more than any position that we talk about ad nauseum on BBI. The injury history here and number of guys out on a week to week basis and over the course of the season is by far a bigger impact than any one guy being injured or us being weak at one position.
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means to Thurmond. I didn't clink the link so maybe it's there, but there's an entire staff in place. Hard to believe 1 guy, HC or not, would be able to completely change the medical culture of a team. Seems like a bitter jab and nothing more.
Coughlin is the head coach. I would be surprised if he didn't have that kind of power. He picks the staff. Who's going to tell him no?
That would mean TC is overriding medical advice and treatment. Yeah, I don't buy that.
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In comment 12348558 UConn4523 said:
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means to Thurmond. I didn't clink the link so maybe it's there, but there's an entire staff in place. Hard to believe 1 guy, HC or not, would be able to completely change the medical culture of a team. Seems like a bitter jab and nothing more.
Coughlin is the head coach. I would be surprised if he didn't have that kind of power. He picks the staff. Who's going to tell him no?
That would mean TC is overriding medical advice and treatment. Yeah, I don't buy that.
Sports science is about how they train, diet and recover. Not how they treat injuries
Saying TC is not as on the cutting edge as Chip in this is probably the biggest "no shit" statement you could make.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, time will tell if Chips's methods have merit and become standard or gets passed over like many fads before it.
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In comment 12348558 UConn4523 said:
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means to Thurmond. I didn't clink the link so maybe it's there, but there's an entire staff in place. Hard to believe 1 guy, HC or not, would be able to completely change the medical culture of a team. Seems like a bitter jab and nothing more.
Coughlin is the head coach. I would be surprised if he didn't have that kind of power. He picks the staff. Who's going to tell him no?
That would mean TC is overriding medical advice and treatment. Yeah, I don't buy that.
???? Coughlin is the Head Coach and both the Strength and Conditioning Coach and Team Trainers fall under positions that he is responsible for managing. Any new treatments, exercises and training have to be reviewed and approved by the head coach not the other way around.
Why is new info on a football forum?
He probably wouldn't be too happy about cutting practice shorter while trying to install a new offense or getting a number of new players on defense on the right page. The CBA reduced the amount of time and quality of practices prior to the start of the season and it hasn't helped players stay healthy.