No matter how incriminating -- and, lest we forget, hilarious -- the evidence appears, and no matter how much we'd all like to believe the contrary, Tom Coughlin insists it was an accident.
“I did not snub Mr. Mara if that’s what you’re insinuating,” Coughlin said on Jay Mohr's radio show, via the New York Daily News. “That’s the way I leave press conferences. Why should I hang around to answer on more less-than-glamourous question?”
The gif is so easy to believe, though, because it personifies the tension between the hunky-dory spin the Giants put on Coughlin's departure.
Here's how Coughlin's resignation was positioned by the Giants back in January:
Tom Coughlin, who led the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl victories, oversaw the development of Eli Manning into the best quarterback in team history and became one of the most influential figures in the 91-year history of the franchise, today announced he is stepping down as head coach.
“I met with (co-owners) John Mara and Steve Tisch this afternoon, and I informed them that it is in the best interest of the organization that I step down as head coach,” Coughlin said. “I strongly believe the time is right for me and my family, and as I said, the Giants organization.”
And here's how Coughlin himself described the state of affairs to Mohr: “Hey, do I agree with the move? Of course not. It hurts. It hurts. Former is not a good word. I don’t like the word but that’s the way it is.”
So, yeah, Coughlin did not resign -- at least not on his own volition.
But the Giants are far from the first team to portray a parting of ways through a rosier lens than what actually exists, and who can fault them from moving on from a coach that will turn 70 before the 2016 opening kick after three straight losing seasons?
Coughlin insisted that things between he and the Giants' brass are "very respectful, very professional" and said he felt good about his interview with the Eagles but things "did not materialize."