In Walter Thurmond's NFL career, he's been coached by the two oldest head coaches in the league: Tom Coughlin, 68, and Pete Carroll, 63. Now a member of the Eagles, Thurmond is set to begin his first season under the guidance of Chip Kelly, who is known by most as one of the most innovative coaches in the league, placing a premium on sports science to get optimal performances out of his players.
In an interview with Bleacher Report, Thurmond was asked to compare the three coaches. And, in doing so, Thurmond revealed that one of the two older coaches does not believe in "modern medicine."
According to Thurmond, that coach is Coughlin, who coaches the Giants -- a team that has been ravaged by injuries in the last two seasons.
This is what Thurmond told Bleacher Report about Coughlin's old-school ways:
"Coach Coughlin is the same type of person, but we battled through injuries last season. Yes, he's a little old-school, but he's starting to come around to the times. He doesn't believe in the sport-science aspect like Coach Carroll or Coach Kelly and the newfound technology for the players. His style takes a hit, because he doesn't believe in this aspect. He believes in winning, but he doesn't believe in the modern medicine to progress the players to that next level."
Now, before bashing Coughlin for his denial of sports science, it's important to note that Thurmond complimented Coughlin -- along with Kelly and Carroll -- for being "driven to win a championship." It's also worth noting that Thurmond only spent one season in New York, a season that saw him only appear in two games due to injury. Finally, I wonder how many coaches take an approach similar to Kelly's and embrace sports science. I doubt Coughlin is the only coach in the NFL who is slow on the uptake.
Still, this is not exactly a good sign for the Giants, especially considering their injury history. According to The Dallas Morning News, in 2013, the Giants led the league with 91 starter games lost because of injuries. And according to Football Outsiders, the Giants are the first team to lead the NFL in Adjusted Games Lost -- a statistic that measures how much teams were affected by injuries -- in consecutive seasons.
In no way does this prove that those injuries are only occurring because of Coughlin, but hey, embracing sports science and modern medicine probably wouldn't hurt the Giants' chances to remain upright in 2015.
