Giants' Mara: Coughlin coaching Eagles 'would have bothered me a lot'

New York Giants co-owner John Mara already watched one former coach join a division rival, and would hate to see it happen again.

With Tom Coughlin pulling his name out of consideration for the Philadelphia Eagles' head coaching job, Mara can breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm not going to lie, it would have bothered me a lot," Mara said Friday, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. "It would have been like watching Bill Parcells walk out with the star on his shirt. It was tough to see at the time and that would have bothered me. I want him to be happy but I certainly didn't want to see him happy in green."

Parcells served as Giants head coach from 1983-90 before announcing the first of several retirements. He went on to coach the New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Dallas Cowboys.

Coughlin, who parted ways with the Giants after 12 seasons, was reportedly a strong candidate for the Eagles' job before withdrawing. He came to the decision after realizing much of his old staff would be retained by the Giants, according to Schwartz.

Seeing Coughlin in green would have been difficult for the Giants.

"Yes, it would have," co-owner Steve Tisch said, "because I see Tom in blue and red."