Tony Dungy: Time for Tom Coughlin to step down

As miserable as the Giants season has been, nothing could have prepared them for the downright embarrassing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

And while the finger-pointing has been directed at everyone and from everywhere — now it is even coming from where you'd least expect.

Tony Dungy said on NBC's "Football Night in America" that head coach Tom Coughlin shouldn't be fired, but needed to step down. 

The 3-and-9 Giants have dropped seven straight and seem destined to finish with their worst record since Coughlin's first season with the team.

Dungy was blunt with co-host Dan Patrick in this exchange:

Patrick: "Time to start over in New York?"

Dungy: "It really is."

Patrick: "Where do you start when you start over?"

Dungy: "I think that you start with the coach, and Tom Coughlin should not be fired. You don't fire coaches that have won two Super Bowls, but he should step down. This is going to be a long-term rebuilding process."

When the pro-coach Dungy comes out and says what he did on Sunday night, you might have to admit the Coughlin Era is over.

And while it's still nearly impossible to find someone in the organization wanting to release an experienced coach who brings two Super Bowl rings to the table, even co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch — who don’t want to fire him — might have no other option.