New York Giants linebacker Carter Coughlin laid the boom on New England Patriots return man Ty Montgomery in Week 12.
Carter absolutely lit Montgomery up with a textbook tackle that drew the celebration of his teammates. It also caught the eye of the Giants’ video and social media teams, who also praised the 26-year-old for a hit-stick tackle.
The NFL fined Giants special teamer Carter Coughlin $5,764 for this hit on which he was not flagged pic.twitter.com/QnOpKG0UjV
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 2, 2023
Coughlin was not flagged for the hit, which was the correct call by the game officials. However, the NFL didn’t agree and the league office sent a little FedEx package to Coughlin that included a $5,764 fine for unnecessary roughness.
Okay then.
The fine, which Coughlin has appealed, was so egregious that special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey couldn’t help but laugh when asked about it on Friday.
“No,” McGaughey laughed when asked if he had an explanation for the fine. “I mean, we all see the tape, we’ve all seen it. It is what it is, and you know, yeah. It is what it is. It’s amazing.”
McGaughey’s laugh was more out of frustration than any sort of comedic value. Coughlin did absolutely nothing wrong and the fine is the latest example of the NFL going completely overboard.
So, how can the Giants avoid this issue in the future? Should McGaughey teach his players to avoid that level of contact?
“That’s a slippery slope we go down. I mean — it’s a slippery slope,” McGaughey said. “You look at the tape, looks like it’s a textbook tackle, guy gets fined, it’s a slippery slope.”
It’s not just a slippery slope, it’s a joke. The NFL is making a mockery of itself with some of these fines and Coughlin’s might be the most ridiculous yet.
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