Giants Legend Tom Coughlin Says Eli Manning Was 'One Of the Best Late Game QBs' He’d Ever Seen

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By James Foster | Last updated 4/22/24

Eli Manning was drafted first overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, but not by the New York Giants. A later-draft swap of the rights of both Manning and Philip Rivers landed the younger Manning brother in New York.

What followed was a career of both ups and downs, from two Super Bowl rings to a late-career downturn that was timed with the Giants franchise falling apart from once-respectability into years in the doldrums. The younger Manning brother rode off into the sunset at the close of the 2019 season.

20 years after the selection, Giants coach Tom Coughlin shared the memories that both he and Eli Manning made together in their eleven seasons as player and coach.

Tom Coughlin Believed Eli Manning “Was Best Late Game QB”

Speaking to Newsday, Coughlin raved about his former quarterback’s ability to make the clutch moments that ultimately led to the Giants taking home Super Bowls 42 and 46:

“He’s the greatest big-game quarterback I’ve ever been around or even watched,”

“You look at his eyes on game day and it’s like sending laser beams from his eyes. He was so into what he’s doing.”

Despite possessing a lifetime record of exactly 118 wins and 118 losses, Manning will be forever remembered in Giants lore for having orchestrated the helmet catch and the final drive of Super Bowl 46. Both of these moments accentuated postseason runs that saw the Giants take down the vaunted Green Bay Packers in both postseasons to advance and ultimately down the Patriots to claim the Lombardi Trophy.

Eli Manning Was Also As Reliable As He Was Clutch

Coughlin continued his praises of Eli Manning, who started 210 consecutive games from his rookie campaign until an ill-advised decision by Coughlin’s immediate successor to bench Manning during a disastrous 3-13 2017 campaign:

“Every Sunday, he lined up and played. He played with a separated shoulder, but he played. And it was important to him that he did. But from the standpoint of coaching, there was nothing he couldn’t do and nothing you couldn’t ask him to do.”

Manning would return after his benching to start the entire 2018 campaign before his successor, Daniel Jones, assumed the job in 2019.

Will The Giants Find The Next Eli Manning?

Five years after the team had used that sixth selection on Jones, they remain in search of their next Eli Manning. With this year’s sixth overall selection, the team is split between their next franchise quarterback or one of the vaunted wide receiver talents.

The only issue is the potential cost of moving into a top-four selection to grab their quarterback. Time will tell, regardless of who the Giants select for the position, if the player can indeed develop into the next Eli Manning.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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