Tom Coughlin tells Eli Manning ‘it’s not you, it’s us’ during farewell speech

The New York Giants and coach Tom Coughlin parted ways on Monday, which is a bittersweet moment for both parties. At Tuesday’s press conference, Coughlin took some time to say farewell to the team and thank them for everything. At the end of his speech, Coughlin was asked if he had a message to Eli Manning, and he spoke highly of him, which you can hear at 17:35 in the video below:

Q: “Tom, what would your message be to Eli, who now faces tremendous change?”

Coughlin: “He can handle it all. He’s done it before, he’ll handle it again. He’s extremely bright, he’s extremely competitive. He’s what you want -- a son to be made out of, because ... I mean, he thinks he’s the reason. He’s not the reason that I’m [leaving]. [to Manning, who’s sitting in the second row] Eli, it’s not you. It’s us.

[to the crowd] We win, we lose together. Remember, when we lose, I lose. When we win, you guys win. That’s the way it is. That’s the game. I know what it is. I got the game. I got it. But what I would tell him -- he’s going to be right back here in about two days, starting to work on next year, just like he always does. And that’s never going to change. And God bless him for it.”

After the speech, Coughlin and Giants president had this awkward moment, wherein Coughlin walked right by Mara as the latter likely assumed he’d share a handshake:

It’s apparent that Coughlin loves Manning, and on Manning’s side, the feeling is mutual. You can see Eli fighting back tears when Coughlin spoke directly to him at the 0:40 mark: