NFL

Coughlin in ‘emotional tug of war’ after brother’s death

Tom Coughlin suffered a deep personal loss this week when his only brother died unexpectedly, and as the Giants coach has attended to his football duties, spent time with his grieving family and kept his innermost thoughts private, he admits it has been difficult to juggle his feelings.

“It’s an emotional tug of war is probably the best way to say it,’’ Coughlin said in an interview on Giants.com. “You drift back and forth between your family and your brother and even my wife [Judy] was very close to John and is close to all my sisters. So you’re not there for anybody, to be honest with you. But that’s understood, they all understand that.’’

John Coughlin, 63, attended Sunday’s Giants loss to the Broncos at MetLife Stadium, wearing a Giants jacket and walking the sideline prior to the game. After the game, John Coughlin returned to his Hackensack, N.J., apartment, paid the taxi fare and, in a freak accident, fell and hit his head on the curb. He was on blood thinners for a heart condition and suffered a brain hemorrhage. He was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, and died Monday night when the decision was made by John’s companion, Suzanne Malloy, to take him off life support. Tom Coughlin, 67, was at the hospital when the decision was made.

“Monday was a day in which the initial shock for me was at about five in the morning, going over to the hospital and seeing John and then listening to the doctors and their options and then going back in the afternoon and having my sisters there,’’ Tom Coughlin said. “We all were in there together. Then the doctors came by, the neurosurgeons, and they went further with the explanation and then we went back Monday night to say goodbye.

“It was that, and then you’re trying to get as much information as you can about the next opponent and you’re trying to go ahead and take care of things that you do. My parents are gone, I’m the oldest, so you understand where the responsibility goes. So I do that and do the best I can here with the guys. Fortunately, I have a veteran staff that’s been with me for a long time and they were told very early in the week what was going on and they’ve gone ahead and forged out and done the best they can with it.”

Tom Coughlin briefly spoke to the team about his brother’s death during Wednesday morning’s meeting, telling the players “your time on earth is precious” before delving into the game plan for the week.

The funeral for John Coughlin is Tuesday in the family’s hometown in Waterloo, N.Y. Tom Coughlin will coach Sunday’s game in Charlotte, N.C., against the Panthers before attending the funeral.