AP

Giants owner John Mara would not have been pleased if Tom Coughlin had coached an NFC East rival.

Mara told reporters on Friday that he was relieved when Coughlin pulled his name from consideration for the Eagles coaching search, and that he would’ve had a hard time seeing a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Giants coaching another team in the division. Mara has been through that once before, when Bill Parcells coached the Cowboys, and once was enough.

“I’m not going to lie, it would have bothered me a lot,’’ Mara said. “It would have been like watching Bill Parcells walk out with the star on his shirt. It was tough to see at the time and that would have bothered me. I want him to be happy but I certainly didn’t want to see him happy in green.’’

Of course, if Mara didn’t want Coughlin to coach elsewhere, he could have kept Coughlin on as the Giants’ head coach. Coughlin may coach against the Giants some day, as he’s still hoping to coach again. Mara would just rather see Coughlin coach in the AFC.