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LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Coach Tom Coughlin of the Football Team upon the occasion of winning 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 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 where he played wingback on the football team in the same backfield as and ; 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 for 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 , becoming the wide receivers coach of the ; he subsequently served in coaching capacities for the 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, , which became the most successful 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 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 , defeated the 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 ; 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 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.