Graham Coughlan (born 18 November 1974) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a centre back.

He was an integral member of the squad that won two Football League divisional championships between 2002 and 2004, and was a favourite among supporters for his uncompromising style of play at the heart of their defence.

He signed for Southend United in July 2010, taking up a coaching position at the club in 2013, before going on to manage Bristol Rovers and Mansfield Town.

At 21, he was brought to England by then Blackburn Rovers manager Ray Harford but struggled to earn a place in the Premier League Champions' first team.

A highly successful four-year spell at the club followed, with Coughlan a permanent fixture, earning his name in the PFA Division Three team of the year for 2001–02.

Coughlan was also Vice-Captain of Plymouth and his influence and stature was missed for nearly two seasons in their defence after he was sold to Sheffield Wednesday which they then managed to fill with Krisztián Timár.

In the summer of 2005, he was reunited with former manager Paul Sturrock when he moved back north to newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday for an undisclosed fee.

[7] However, he only started one game, the 0–0 draw with Luton Town, before returning to Sheffield Wednesday, where he was told by manager Brian Laws that he had no future at the club, and made available for transfer.

In his two years at the club won the captaincy and performed some coaching duties, such as being in charge of Shrewsbury's reserve side which beat Sheffield United 5–0.

With the signing of Jonson Clarke-Harris, Rovers saw an upturn of their fortunes and secured their League One status in the penultimate match after a 0–0 draw at Fleetwood Town.

[20] Rovers climbed to fourth the following Saturday when they won 2–1 away at Ipswich Town, a result overshadowed by the post-match speculation regarding Coughlan's position as manager with rumours he was looking to leave the club.

[21] These rumours were proved to be true when, two days later, Rovers issued a statement to confirm that the club had allowed Coughlan to speak to Mansfield Town after two previous approaches that had been rejected.