Coughlin to Receive 2017 Arents Award

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Orange football letterwinner and two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin will be honored by the Syracuse University Alumni Association with the 2017 Arents Award at a ceremony on campus during Orange Central Weekend. The Arents Award is the highest alumni honor bestowed by the University.

The Arents Award is named after George Arents, a successful manufacturer who served on the University Board of Trustees from 1930 until his death in 1960. Coughlin joins Daniel D'Aniello, Diane Nelson and Mary Spio as recipients of this year's award for excellence and innovation in their chosen fields.

This year's Arents Award celebration is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6 in the Goldstein Auditorium at the Schine Student Center.

Coughlin is the executive vice president of football operations for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars where he oversees the day-to-day football operations of the franchise. His decorated NFL career spans 29 years, including 20 seasons as a head coach.

Coughlin coached the New York Giants to Super Bowl championships following the 2007 and 2011 regular seasons. His overall coaching record of 182-157 (.537) is 12th on the NFL's all-time coaching wins list, and his 12 playoff wins rank seventh in league history. Coughlin, who recently earned a spot in the Giants' Ring of Honor, also served as the NFL's senior advisor to football operations before the Jaguars hired him in January 2017.

A three-year letterwinner for Hall of Fame Orange head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, Coughlin suited up alongside future College and Pro football Hall of Famers Larry Csonka and Floyd Little in the Syracuse backfield. During his senior season of 1967, Coughlin led SU in both receptions and receiving yardage as the Orange compiled an 8-2 record and finished 12th in the final United Press International (UPI) poll.

Coughlin was appointed Syracuse's assistant freshman coach in 1968, and after serving as head coach at Rochester Institute of Technology, he came back to SU as the offensive backs coach in 1974 and spent seven years as an Orange assistant. He also served as an NFL assistant coach for seven years and was Boston College's head coach for three seasons before landing the Jaguars' head coaching position for their inaugural season in 1995.

Coughlin guided the Jaguars to 72 wins and four playoff appearances, including two AFC championship games, from 1995-2002. UPI honored Coughlin as its NFL Coach of the Year in 1996 after he led Jacksonville to the AFC title game in the team's second season.

Off the football field, Coughlin and his wife, Judy, founded the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, which helps families battle childhood cancer by providing financial, emotional and practical support. The fund honors the memory of Jay McGillis, one of Coughlin's student-athletes at Boston College. McGillis passed away from leukemia in 1992.

The Coughlins reside in Atlantic Beach, Fla. They have two daughters, Keli and Kate, as well as two sons, Brian and Tim, and 12 grandchildren.

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