EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Giants coach Jim Fassel informed his players during a Wednesday morning meeting the final two games of the season will be his last.
"It's time. They need a change, I need a change. It's the right thing to do," Fassel said at his news conference Wednesday.
According to players, Fassel informed the team he is not quitting but owners Wellington Mara, Bob Tisch and general manager Ernie Accorsi all agreed Fassel would be let go after these last two games.
Though Fassel was upbeat addressing his players, he did show concern for the fate of his assistant coaches, players said.
A meeting with team brass was initiated by Fassel. The coach, not ownership, wanted his situation resolved.
Candidates rumored to be in line for the job include former Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin, LSU coach Nick Saban and Patriots coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel.
Last week, Dan Reeves was given the opportunity to coach the Falcons' final three games of the season but declined. Instead, he decided to step down and allow defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to work in his place.
Fassel told the players he would coach these last two games despite knowing his fate. He has one year remaining on his contract at an approximate salary of $2.7 million.
Fassel should not be out of work long. He is expected to be a hot candidate in Arizona if Dave McGinnis is fired as well as Oakland if Bill Callahan is fired as coach of the Raiders.
Fassel currently has a 58-51-1 record for the Giants plus a 2-3 postseason record.
Last month Fassel talked to SportsLine.com about his place on the coaching hot seat and the tenous position that comes with the job.
"I probably figured that out in my second year as head coach here in New York," Fassel said. "We didn't have a very good team that first year but we made the playoffs, went undefeated in the division and I was named Coach of the Year. Heck, I'm feeling pretty good about myself.
"But three or four games into the next year we were struggling and I started to hear the negativity. I started to hear it from the fans and the media and I realized there are no passes in this league.
"Considering the egos we have, none of us wants to hear about it. My job has been reportedly on the line in five of the years that I've been here. But if you can’t operate on the hot seat then you can’t operate. It's a very unwise man who thinks this job will be all rosy.
"The only thing that isn’t on your contract when you sign it is the 'fired-on' date," Fassel said. "You look at it and those are the odds. I've heard more than one person say the shelf life of a head coach is down to three or four years. That speaks volumes of our profession.
"What people do not realize about the position when they talk about our jobs being on the line, the day you sign your contract your job is on the line. It's almost like a game of musical chairs. There may be 32 guys who start when the music begins but when that 16th game rolls around there’s only about 18 chairs left for those 32 guys. That's just the nature of what we do."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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