Former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and the Philadelphia Eagles called off a second meeting scheduled for Thursday.
ESPN reported Coughlin withdrew from consideration to become head coach of the Eagles because he felt Philadelphia wasn’t “the right fit.”
Coughlin, 69, stepped down under pressure from Giants’ ownership at the end of his fourth consecutive season without a playoff appearance with the Giants. The two-time Super Bowl winning coach spent 12 seasons with the Giants, who granted the arch-rival and division foe permission to interview Coughlin.
Only three other known candidates interviewed for the Eagles’ position: running backs coach Duce Staley, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson.
The Giants are leaving the door open for Coughlin to work with the team in a capacity to be determined.
Coughlin would have become the first to serve as head coach of the two NFC East rivals.
The Eagles fired Chip Kelly on Dec. 29. Kelly was 26-21 in three seasons with the Eagles but players and owner Jeffrey Lurie criticized his management style.
Coughlin, a disciplinarian many former players said was a father figure and role model in New York, is viewed as the opposite of Kelly.
Meanwhile, the Giants moved toward promoting Coughlin’s offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo, to head coach.