As assistant manager to Hendrie at Love Street Coughlin helped Saints win the first division. When Hendrie left in 2002 he was made caretaker manager for the rest of the season. Despite not impressing he was given the job full time and assembled a squad. Some signings were good, such as Craig Hinchcliffe and John O'Neill, whilst Kevin Twaddle and Paul McKnight rarely played. Things didn't improve and he was kicked out by the end of November.
There were always rumours during Coughlin's stint in charge in 2003/04 that he wasn't actually signing the players and picking the team, and he's hinted a few times that this might not be the case. It will be interesting to see if he is any good at Berwick with no intereference.