EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –- Eli Manning looked and sounded as emotional as the usually stoic quarterback ever has been.

Following what could have been the team’s final meeting with Tom Coughlin, a visibly saddened Manning discussed the possibility of having played his final game for the only pro head coach he has had.

“The meeting today… thinking it could be the last one with Coach Coughlin up there was tough,” Manning said after a long pause when asked if he’s emotional about the possibility of losing Coughlin early Monday afternoon.

“There are some things you can’t control,” Manning added. “I think the Maras and Tisch [Giants ownership] know how I feel about Coach Coughlin and the respect I have for him. I think he has done a great job and he definitely has not failed. We as players failed him by not playing to the level that we could.”

When Giants players met with reporters in the early afternoon, many said they did not know the fate of their head coach. Wide receiver Rueben Randle said Coughlin told the team that if this was his last time with the team, he wanted to thank them for their effort.

“I love Coach Coughlin,” Odell Beckham Jr. said. “He is always going to be my coach. The decision is not really on me. We just have to wait and see.”

Manning said he may have a gut feeling what will happen with Coughlin, but he did not want to share that with reporters. The quarterback, who has played every single game of his 12-year career for Coughlin and won two Super Bowls with the head coach, clearly was saddened on Monday, even more so than the usual end-of-the-season meeting.

“He has been a great coach to play for,” Manning said. “Learned so much from him from an early age when I got here to every year. Just to meet with him and talk football and X’s and O’s and strategy. … He has a great football mind and loves what he does, has great passion. He is an example of how you should handle your job and love what you are doing.”

While Manning has made the adjustment to a new system in the past two seasons under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, the Giants quarterback would like to avoid having to learn a whole new system over again.

“It obviously would not be ideal,” Manning said of a potential coaching change. “But we didn’t get the job done. Whatever occurs, I’ll handle it but we have to see what happens.”

“He [Coughlin] has been a great coach to play under,” Manning added. “We have a great relationship, great trust. I appreciate the way he works. I think he appreciates the way I handle my business and play quarterback and prepare and get ready. We’ve had a good run. Could have been better obviously, but I appreciate everything he has done for me.”