On December 18, 2019, Coughlin was fired by Jaguars owner Shahid Khan. In a statement, Khan said he had already planned to fire Coughlin at the end of a lackluster season. However, he reportedly decided to oust Coughlin right away after the NFL Players Association announced it had won a grievance filed by linebacker Dante Fowler, now of the Atlanta Falcons. Fowler contended that the Jaguars had improperly fined him a total of $700,000 for not attending rehab and medical appointments in Jacksonville during the 2018 offseason that should have been optional under the collective bargaining agreement. The NFLPA took the unusual step of publicly warning free agents against signing with the Jaguars because of Coughlin's reported disregard for player rights. According to the NFLPA, over 25 percent of player grievances in the past two seasons had been filed against the Jaguars.