The NFL’s sizzling hot coaching prospect is — Tom Coughlin?

Tom Coughlin may be waving hello and not goodbye. (Bill Kostroun/Associated Press)

A year after he was forced to step down as coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin is back. Or, at least, back in the conversation.

Coughlin, the two-time Super Bowl champion, is a certifiably hot commodity, with the 70-year-old’s name being mentioned in connection with two of the NFL’s three coaching vacancies.

He’s been in the conversation to return to the Jacksonville Jaguars since Gus Bradley was fired, and now, within hours after the Buffalo Bills fired Rex Ryan, the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers reports that Coughlin is a leading contender for that job. In fact, Coughlin has been in the Bills’ thoughts for a while.

He met with Ryan, Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula and team President Russ Brandon during the offseason to discuss a consultant’s job with the team, but the group was unable to find the right spot for him, Myers reports. So Coughlin took a job as the NFL’s senior advisor…