Church: Coughlin ‘a big reason that Jacksonville came after me’

Barry Church has little doubt that Tom Coughlin was largely responsible for the Jacksonville Jaguars signing him as a free agent. The veteran safety picked up on that during his first conversation with Coughlin, the Jaguars’ new vice president of … Continued

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SiriusXM Editor
March 13, 2017

Barry Church has little doubt that Tom Coughlin was largely responsible for the Jacksonville Jaguars signing him as a free agent.

The veteran safety picked up on that during his first conversation with Coughlin, the Jaguars’ new vice president of football operations, during his visit to the team’s facility.

‘I felt like I played against him a lot’

Coughlin hasn’t forgotten how well Church played against the New York Giants’ teams Coughlin coached while Church played for the Dallas Cowboys.

“I feel like he was a big part of why I came down here,” Church told Bob Papa and Ross Tucker on the Opening Drive. “I mean, as soon as I came in and talked to him — as far as when I went down there to sign everything — as soon as I walked in the room, he started rambling off stats about how I was taking the ball away from his New York teams when he was there with Eli and them boys. And I felt like I played against him a lot; I think I played against him, like, four years straight, so he knew my game.

‘I saw how talented they could be’

“I think he was a big reason that Jacksonville came after me in free agency. ”

What made Church want the Jaguars beyond seeing the right numbers on a four-year contract?

“The main thing that attracted me down there was I looked at their roster and saw how young they are and how talented they could be and just how hungry they are down there, so that really attracted me down there,” he said. “Also, just being part of something special, just turning that whole organization around and adding my name to be a part of that also something that attracted me down there.”


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