National Football League

AP source: Coughlin interviews with 49ers about coach job

Published Jan. 12, 2016 9:44 p.m. ET

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) Former New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin interviewed into Tuesday evening with the San Francisco 49ers regarding their head coaching vacancy, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press.

The two-time Super Bowl winning coach met with 49ers general manager Trent Baalke at an unspecified location on the East Coast, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team isn't making public its interviews or candidates to replace the fired Jim Tomsula.

Tomsula was let go immediately after a season-ending 19-16 overtime win against St. Louis on Jan. 3.

San Francisco CEO Jed York was in Houston on Tuesday for the NFL owners meetings.

The Niners, who went 5-11 and missed the playoffs for a second straight season, interviewed Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson in Cincinnati on Sunday after last week's meetings with fired Eagles coach Chip Kelly and Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.

San Francisco is certainly seeking experience to replace promoted defensive line coach Tomsula after one disappointing season, and Coughlin fits that bill. His Giants beat the 49ers 20-17 in overtime of the 2011 NFC championship game at Candlestick Park in then-San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh's first season and New York went on to win the Super Bowl - the franchise's most recent postseason appearance.

The 69-year-old Coughlin, one of 13 coaches to win multiple Super Bowls, resigned from the Giants on Jan. 4 after four straight years of missing the playoffs and consecutive 6-10 finishes.

In 2015, he was the oldest active coach in the NFL. He began last season knowing he had to turn things around to keep his job, and the Giants lost six games either in the final 1:14 of regulation or in overtime.

Coughlin had a 110-93 record in 12 seasons with the Giants, winning three division titles in addition to his two championships. He was 72-64 in eight seasons with the then-expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, capturing two division titles and leading them to a pair of conference championship games in their first five seasons.

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