Eli Manning Recalls How Tom Coughlin Stopped Him from Wearing a Cut-Off Jersey Despite His Strong Abs

When the bloodline is bestowed the title of football royalty, the assumption would be that the athletes from the different generations of the Manning clan were also blessed with pumped-up physiques. However, the Mannings are better known for their football prowess than their muscles.

However, when he was in the early days of what would ultimately become a 16-year NFL career from 2004 to 2019, Eli Manning was feeling every bit a professional athlete, in terms of the soul, the mind, the skill, and last but not least, the body. And he almost took up the cut-off jersey aesthetic during his practices with the New York Giants to flaunt his abs.

If it wasn’t for his then-head coach, Tom Coughlin, there likely would have been a few more photographs of Eli sporting that style statement on the internet right now.

Thanks to characters such as Ezekiel Elliot and a few others, the cut-off jersey style, which has become a not-so-subtle way for athletes to showcase their abdomens, is now the go-to choice for players on the practice field. According to Manning, however, those kinds of fashion statements wouldn’t have been tolerated.

“Coach Coughlin wouldn’t allow it. It was a team rule,” Eli explained before jokingly suggesting that, “I definitely had a six pack, really more like an eight pack, but Coach Coughlin didn’t do it.

“If you go back to my high school film, I had my jersey way cut off. It hardly covered my shoulder pads, you could see everything… I was big on showing off the abs back in the day,” added Eli.

Sticking to his tongue-in-cheek brand of humor, the two-time Super Bowl winner narrated this during his post-Manning Cast press conference. Following his coverage of the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-16 routing of the Las Vegas Raiders, which included a short-lived conversation with the former President of the United States, George W. Bush, Manning sat down to reflect on everything from the game to Cam Skattebo’s viral taco question.

It was another week in the books for the Mannings, and they’ll begin to turn their attention toward this Monday’s match-up between the Bryce Young-led Carolina Panthers and the surging San Francisco 49ers. And fans won’t have to worry about any exposed abs in Week 12 either, since the network requires both Eli and Peyton to remain fully clothed at all times.

Although no promises can be made for Week 13. Eli’s Giants will be stepping into the national spotlight to take on the New England Patriots. He’ll likely do whatever it takes to generate some extra noise and excitement for his underdog of a franchise. So, cut-off Jersey, Eli?