After months of research, hours of telephone calls and years of studying, I have come to one realization about Tom Coughlin: he will never win in Jacksonville. It's not that I think he can't rebuild the Jaguars; on the contrary, I actually believe he is an excellent coach who will be able to make the right personnel moves and make the Jaguars competitive by 2004. But fans in this city will never appreciate him, and will never give him the credit he deserves.

Jason Mathney Sports Editor

I finally came to this realization Jan. 11, one week after former University of Florida head coach Steve Spurrier resigned. Immediately, local media went into an upheaval, and Gator fans screamed for Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver to hire Spurrier on the spot, leaving any sense of loyalty behind. Polls and petitions soon came about, one with an astounding 87 percent of fans saying Weaver should fire Coughlin and hire Spurrier. Until fans learn to separate college football and pro football, and set aside their allegiances in the two, Jacksonville will never be a real pro sports town, and Coughlin will never get any respect that he is so rightfully due in Jacksonville. Remember, these are the same fans that cheer Jaguar opponents if they played for UF, and do the wave when the offense has the ball.

Jacksonville fans really do not realize the wonderful job Coughlin has done with the Jaguars franchise. In fact, he is the Jaguars franchise. He drafted offensive tackle Tony Boselli and traded for quarterback Mark Brunell within a 24-hour span. He signed an "injury-prone" wide receiver named Jimmy Smith and a nobody receiver named Keenan McCardell. But the fans won't think about that. All fans seem to remember in this city are draft picks like linebacker James Hamilton and wide receiver R. Jay Soward. Through seven years with the franchise, Coughlin is 62-50 in the regular season, and 4-4 in the playoffs.

Looking about four hours down I-95, in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first seven seasons, they finished 36-64-1 in the regular season and 1-3 in the playoffs. But the fans won't think about that. Coughlin runs a tight ship and will not allow his players to run around town like they own it, letting drug convictions and felonies slide like the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s. Maybe some of his rules are silly. It doesn't matter. They are his rules. And if players don't like it, it won't be long until they get sent packing. He conducts himself with class and expects nothing less from every player on his team. He has made the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise synonymous with class. The fans won't think about that. But I always will.