Following the New York Giants’ Week 12 victory over the New England Patriots, linebacker Carter Coughlin was fined $5,764 by the league.
Coughlin had laid out Patriots return man Ty Montgomery with what seemed like a perfect tackle. It was not flagged on the field, but the NFL later determined otherwise, thus laying down the fine.
This was the hit:
The NFL fined Giants special teamer Carter Coughlin $5,764 for this hit on which he was not flagged pic.twitter.com/QnOpKG0UjV
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 2, 2023
The response from Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey was largely frustration. How else was Coughlin supposed to make that tackle? He didn’t go high, he didn’t go low, he didn’t lower his head. It was a textbook tackle that the NFL somehow decided was illegal.
The good news for Coughlin is that the NFL rescinded his fine after he appealed the decision.
Carter Coughlin told me in locker room the league rescinded his fine for illegal hit even though it was legal and no flag.
— The Giant Insider Podcast and Newspaper (@GiantInsider) December 20, 2023
The NFL admits it was wrong to fine Carter for a legal hit with rescinding the fine, but it still doesn’t feel like enough. The league has to do better by its players. Not only did this create unnecessary work for who knows how many NFL employees, but it created a rift between players and the league.
Referees are humans, too, and not infallible, so there are instances where the league will have to intervene and punish players for overly nasty hits. But this is taking it too far — the league does not need to intervene as much as they are.
The good news for Coughlin is that he doesn’t have to pay that silly fine now and he can fully focus on facing the Eagles on Monday.
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