Latest Giants Meltdown Once Again Highlights Need for Major Change in New York

On a rainy, sloppy afternoon in Seattle, the New York Giants as we've come to know them under head coach Tom Coughlin officially came to an end.

Losing their fourth game in a row by a final score of 38-17 to the Seahawks, Coughlin's Giants look like a shell of their former selves. Sure, they have talent on both sides of the football—rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. comes to mind—but in the grand scheme of things, nothing seems to be clicking.

At 3-6, they are sitting alongside Washington at the bottom of the NFC East, pretty much ending their hopes of returning to the postseason.

It's now clear that the Giants need a complete culture change, and that change starts with Coughlin. The 68-year-old coach has been in charge of this team since 2004. His 11 seasons in New York make him the third-longest-tenured coach in the league behind only Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis.

MIKE DERER/Associated Press

Under his watch, this team has reached the playoffs five times and won two Super Bowl titles. As good as the Giants used to be, they haven't played a meaningful football game past the month of December since 2011.

Assuming the current trend holds up, this will be the third season in a row where fans of Big Blue will be left out in the cold without any playoff football.

"It's emotionally draining," Coughlin told reporters before the game in Seattle. "A lot of people don't understand how emotionally draining it is. Especially when you lose. It's hard to get over that and get moving, but I think we're getting there."

Comments like that certainly make it sound like this will be his final season in New York. Yes, he will be remembered as one of the best coaches in franchise history, but like with every employee in the NFL, "What have you done for me lately?"

The problem with the Giants is they aren't in a "rebuilding" stage. What we're seeing each week is sloppy, mistake-riddled football, and it's not getting any better.

Great coaches have a way of fixing these flaws and getting the most out their roster.

Belichick has made a career of doing it in New England, Bruce Arians has found a way to do it with his Arizona Cardinals. Heck, even Jason Garrett has done it with the Dallas Cowboys this season. Once a staple of a Coughlin team, the 2014 Giants haven't been able consistently bounce back and compete.

Allowing the Seahawks to run for 350 yards and five touchdowns is inexcusable. Those are the type of numbers you put up in Madden NFL 15 going up against your kid brother.

In his postgame presser, Coughlin talked about how the Giants prepared for Seattle's read-option attack: "We worked on plays of that nature all week long."

And there's the problem. Like any team getting ready to take on the Seahawks, the Giants devised a strategy to slow down their rushing attack, and despite those efforts, they were obliterated in that facet of the game.

Chris B. Brown of Smart Football shared his thoughts on what went down:

The most challenging part about bringing sweeping change to this organization is twofold. Head coaches will always be the first to go when things go wrong. With that said, general manager Jerry Reese may need to be shown the door as well.

Reese has been the architect of this roster. Even though Coughlin decides who plays and who doesn't, Reese provides him with those options.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Last offseason, he went out and spent money to give his team a fighting chance. He brought in cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Denver and Walter Thurmond from Seattle and signed running back Rashad Jennings.

Rodgers-Cromartie is Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) 25th-ranked cornerback while Thurmond and Jennings have both suffered injuries—Thurmond's was season-ending.

You can't blame him for the injuries his free-agent class has suffered, but one thing you can blame him for is the lack of talent and depth at the linebacker position—one of the fatal flaws of this Giants defense.

However, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com believes he will be granted a stay of execution:

Whether Reese goes or not remains to be seen. Based on everything that's gone down over the last two seasons, thogh, it's clear that change is imminent and necessary.

It's time to reboot this culture and bid farewell to the great Tom Coughlin.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.