On 5 May 1974, Coughlan won a second National Hurling League medal after lining out at midfield in the 6-15 to 1-12 defeat of Wexford in the final. The team later made an early exit from the 1974 Munster Championship, with Coughlan's retirement from inter-county hurling and his proposed retirement from inter-county football being reported in the "Evening Echo" on 27 May 1974. The lack of hurling action allowed Coughlan to commit solely to the Cork senior football team as captain for the second time in his career. On 14 July 1974, he captained the team from midfield when Cork faced Kerry in the Munster final. Coughlan ended the game with a fourth winners' medal after the 1-11 to 0-07 victory, while he also had the honour of collecting the cup for a second time as captain.