Tom Coughlin Reveals Wife Judy Battling Rare Brain Disorder, 'Gut-wrenching'

"Our hearts are broken. Judy has been everything to our family."

That's Tom Coughlin -- 2x Super Bowl-winning head coach -- revealing the tremendous pain his family felt since his wife of 53 years, Judy Coughlin, was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2020.

The 74-year-old coach announced the devastating news on Monday, authoring a guest essay for the NY Times, detailing his year-long struggle as primary caregiver for his wife.

FYI, the Mayo Clinic defines PSP as an "uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, balance and eye movements, and later with swallowing. The disorder results from deterioration of cells in areas of your brain that control body movement, coordination, thinking and other important functions."

Coughlin -- who twice beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl as Giants HC -- says it took doctors years to diagnose the disease that was "slowly taking [Judy] away from us."

Since IDing the disorder, Tom says life has been incredibly difficult for his family.

"For the past four years, we've helplessly watched her go from a gracious woman with a gift of conversation, hugging all the people she met and making them feel they were the most important person in the room, to losing all ability to speak and move," Coughlin wrote.

TC says Judy -- who used to be an active, outgoing person -- now spends most days watching television at home.

"She used to enjoy planning family get-togethers, going for morning walks and caring for her rosebushes; however, those activities are just distant memories. Her days are now filled with lying in bed, watching the Hallmark Channel, sitting in a wheelchair in the sun and receiving round-the-clock care."

"And what's worse, she is trapped inside a body that will not allow her to be the person she was."

Coughlin -- who parted ways with the Jacksonville Jaguars (EVP, Football Operations) in 2019 -- says he's become his wife's main caretaker ... and the switch in roles has been a difficult transition.

"Judy's decline has been nothing but gut-wrenching and has placed me in the club with tens of millions of other Americans who serve as primary caregiver for a loved one. Admittedly, transitioning from being with an NFL franchise to full-time caregiver wasn't easy."