Gene Frenette: Pro Football HOF should clear bigger path for Tom Coughlin, deserving coaches

Let’s get this out of the way first: Tom Coughlin not being the Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee in the coach/contributor category for the Class of 2024 isn’t the worst miscarriage of justice.

Undoubtedly, it’s a disappointment for supporters of the former Jaguars’ head coach and two-time Super Bowl championship coach with the New York Giants.

The problem isn’t the 12-person subcommittee that decided to make the Detroit Lions’ two-time NFL Championship coach (1952-53), Buddy Parker, the nominee. He is well deserving and should have had a bust in Canton decades ago.

Rather, what needs to be tweaked is a system that restricts the voters to a maximum of one coach/contributor candidate being eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, Coughlin faced a daunting path to get into Canton with such a deep pool of qualified coaches — among them Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer — along with contributors like New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, NFL scout/Fritz Pollard Alliance executive John Wooten and Pittsburgh Steelers executive Art Rooney, Jr.

Coughlin’s presenter, retired NFL writer Barry Wilner from the Associated Press, is limited by what he can say about how Tuesday’s meeting unfolded. Wilner did acknowledge it took “several close votes” to whittle the field of 12 semifinalists to six and three candidates before Parker was selected.

“Tom had very strong support, but so did all the other coaches, which is why I think they need a separate coach’s category,” said Wilner. “It’s hard to get in the first year.”

Given the depth of Hall of Fame-worthy coaches, the HOF Board should change the bylaws after 2025 and allow a maximum two coaches to be nominated for entry each year. That means the wait for deserving coach candidates — already well into their golden years for those still living — won't be so long and excruciating.

Nobody disputes Coughlin, a first-time nominee, belongs in Canton for all he has accomplished in a remarkable football life. He’s a lock to eventually get into that exclusive club.

Justice in this instance would be for all of Coughlin’s family and friends to see him up on stage wearing a gold jacket. Not have to watch him get into Canton like Parker, who passed away in 1982 at age 68 and can only now go in posthumously.

The Hall of Fame should ease the backlog for deserving coaches by changing such a restrictive system. Just don’t make Tom Coughlin wait another 5-10 years to get into a fraternity where his membership is inevitable.

Trevor II blossoming in Georgia

Carrollton High (Ga.) head football coach Joey King, who was Trevor Lawrence’s coach at Cartersville (2013-16) when the Purple Hurricanes won two state championships, has another top quarterback prospect being hyped like the Jaguars’ QB in rising sophomore Julian Lewis.

At 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Lewis is not an exact replica of Lawrence, but King says “there are a lot of similarities in terms of understanding the game, a calm demeanor and anticipation of where people are going to be.”

Lewis and Carrollton, the state runner-up in Class 7A last season, were under the national spotlight Friday when the Trojans lost 39-34 to nationally-ranked Atlanta Langston Hughes on ESPN2 (6 p.m.). Lewis, regarded in some recruiting circles as the No. 1 prospect nationally for the Class of 2026, completed a short pass on the game's final play, but the Hughes defense stopped the receiver one yard short of the end zone.

Something else is noticeable, too. While Lewis’ hair isn’t as long as Trevor’s, it does stick out the back of his helmet. King once had a policy that his players had to maintain reasonably short hair to play for him, but he changed when Lawrence and three of his teammates decided to let their hair grow out prior to their sophomore year at Cartersville.

King has remained more liberal about his hair rules, saying: “We changed up a little bit there [with Lawrence]. Short hair or long hair, it doesn’t matter as long as he can throw the football.”

Rourke facing long odds

Jaguars third-team quarterback Nathan Rourke making one of the greatest escape plays in franchise history, which led to him throwing a touchdown pass to Qadree Ollison last week in a preseason win over the Dallas Cowboys, could launch him into NFL history if he eventually makes a 53-man roster.

A native of Victoria, Canada, and a former CFL standout, Rourke is trying to become only the fifth quarterback from his country to play in an NFL regular-season game. Among the four QBs who hailed from Canada to make it in the NFL are Super Bowl-winning starter Mark Rypien, a Calgary native, who led the Washington Commanders to a championship in 1991.

The last Canadian QB to play in the NFL was former New York Giants backup Jesse Palmer (2001-04), a University of Florida product and native of Toronto. Rourke may have to make it with another team unless the Jaguars decide to keep three QBs on their 53-man roster.

Time for Murphy to go home

Despite hitting a respectable .295 with 25 RBI in 40 games for the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City, former Englewood High and Jacksonville University star Daniel Murphy decided to retire again from baseball this week at age 38.

Murphy, a three-time MLB All-Star with the New York Mets and Washington Nationals, had come out of retirement in April to play for the independent Long Island Ducks before the Angels signed him to a minor-league contract in June. But with school starting up for his kids this week in Jacksonville, he decided it was time to end his playing days for good.

“It was a wonderful adventure that my family was able to go on this summer,” texted Murphy, who also played for the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies. “I’m humbled that the Ducks and Angels let me use their sandlots. My family was ready to have me home and I was ready to be home with them.”

Wild Jacksonville baseball tales

Tim Hagerty, author of the book “Tales from the Dugout: 1,001 Humorous, Inspirational and Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball,” had some interesting items with Jacksonville connections.

In 1904, a pitcher for the Class C Jacksonville Jays in the South Atlantic League, had coins falling out of his socks on the mound during a game. It turns out he worked the ticket window before the game and inserted the change (mostly nickels and dimes) from the game’s ticket sales into his socks. He was immediately released by the club.

Hagerty, currently play-by-play voice of the San Diego Padres’ Triple-A club, had been working on the book for about a decade during all his travels through various minor leagues.

The foreword to Hagerty’s book was written by former Kansas City Royals standout Billy Butler, a Wolfson High product. Butler, who played third base for the Idaho Falls Chukars of the rookie Pioneer League, added his own tale as he initiated a snake delay at a road game in Casper, Wyoming.

Butler spotted a giant snake in fair territory near third base, prompting the general manager for the Casper Rockies to entice the snake to slither into a pillow case. The game resumed after the GM took the reptile away.

Quick-hitting nuggets

Pro Football Hall of Fame voter Jim Trotter did a legitimate story for The Athletic on whether the current devaluing of the running back will impact their HOF chances, highlighting active NFL rushing leader and Yulee High product Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans. Trotter also mentioned a half-dozen retired guys like Steven Jackson, Warrick Dunn and Ricky Watters as receiving threats, but not once did the name Fred Taylor appear in the story. The former Jaguars’ star only has 11,695 rushing yards, the most by any retired NFL back …

One of the strangest numbers that reflects how bookmakers feel about Florida’s ho-hum prospects for the 2023 season is an over-under win total of 5.5. The Gators have won less than six games only twice in the past 43 years (6-7 last season), and as tough as the schedule looks, it’s hard to imagine head coach Billy Napier in his second year won’t be able to string together enough wins to get UF to a bowl game. …

When it’s time for Zach Johnson to make his captain picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in three weeks, it’ll be interesting to see how many LIV players he’s willing to take to Rome for the competition. Brooks Koepka should be a lock even if he doesn’t make the top-6 on points, but LIV guys like Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch and Dustin Johnson are tougher calls. Zach Johnson, a PGA Tour loyalist, should do the right thing and just take the players he thinks gives the U.S. the best chance to win, regardless of tour affiliation.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @genefrenette 

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Don't make Tom Coughlin wait too long for Pro Football Hall of Fame entry