There was really no other candidate the New York Giants had any real interest in. After days of seemingly being a done deal in the pundit-sphere, the deal finally got done in real life as former offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo will officially become the new head coach of the Giants.
The #Giants are hiring Ben McAdoo as their head coach, source said
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 14, 2016
Of the seven head coaching jobs that were open right after the regular season ended, four have now been filled. Adam Gase is coaching the Miami Dolphins, Hue Jackson is coaching the Cleveland Browns and earlier today the San Francisco 49ers officially hired Chip Kelly as their head coach.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans are now the only teams without coaches and with former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin officially pulling out of the Eagles coach hunt for some reason, all three seem to be twisting in the wind.
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McAdoo was the obvious choice for the Giants. He and Eli Manning have been a tremendous offensive team together since McAdoo came to the team from the Green Bay Packers’ staff before the 2014 season. If the Giants didn’t hire McAdoo, one of the other teams in need of a head coach was going to.
With Ben McAdoo as offensive coordinator, Eli Manning has thrown shorter, more accurately and more efficiently pic.twitter.com/1akee5JukS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 14, 2016
The move also keeps most of the good things about this Giants coaching staff intact. McAdoo probably won’t rock the boat too much on the assistant coaches and will likely retain defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his staff as well.
McAdoo replaces Tom Coughlin, of course, who “resigned” on Jan. 5 after a disappointing 6-10 Giants season that saw the team blow nine leads in the fourth quarter, with five coming in the final minute of the game. Leadership was the problem with this Giants team and it kept them from taking a 14-2 record into the playoffs. Coughlin had a storied coaching career and should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he’s out of work now because mistakes he made as a coach. McAdoo hopefully learned the lesson.
Read what Packers' QB Aaron Rodgers had to say about the hiring of Ben McAdoo.
📰 | https://t.co/kp3RsehXft pic.twitter.com/SL79AeId94
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 14, 2016
The bright side for McAdoo, who has never been a head coach before on any level, is that team that should have gone 14-2 will still take the field for him, along with some pretty high draft picks the bad 2015-16 record gets the team. The Giants are picking No. 10 and have two picks in the top 42 of the draft, so they should be able to upgrade their defense with a new starting defensive end, and help out their offense with a new weapon at running back. In my first mock draft I had them taking DeForrest Buckner out of Oregon at No.11 and I’d probably put him in that No. 10 spot today.
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As the Giants’ season deteriorated it was ironic that McAdoo seemed to be the main reason to keep Coughlin around, as losing the star offensive coordinator might cause a problem for Eli, Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants’ offense. The Giants solved that problem.
Giants announce Ben McAdoo as their 17th head coach. Owner John Mara: "We want a coach who feels like he has something to prove."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 14, 2016
McAdoo will have some tough choices to make on the free agent front and four of those choices need to be taken care of sooner than later, preferably before free agency even hits. Jason Pierre-Paul in limited action after returning from blowing up his own hand proved he can still rush the passer and get into the backfield, even if wrapping up runners and quarterbacks was a consistent problem with the club he had wrapped around his right hand. As his hand continues to heal, he should actually be fine as long as he can eventually use it. The Giants need to add strength and depth to their defensive line, not take it away. McAdoo needs to find a way to keep Pierre-Paul.
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In the defensive backfield Prince Amukamara is a free agent and really a player the Giants can’t afford to lose. Amukamara missed five games this season, but still managed 63 tackles, a forced fumble, fumble recovery, a pick and 10 passes defended. He’s not a shutdown corner, but he’s a good one and, again, the Giants need to keep the good players on their defense in the house.
"I have been preparing for this moment my entire professional life." – Ben McAdoo pic.twitter.com/jWWe8e0tYC
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 14, 2016
On offense wide receiver Rueben Randle finally showed up in the game plan and the Giants needed him bad as a second option. Randle caught 57 passes for 797 yards and eight touchdowns last season and while his yardage total was down, his playmaking abilities definitely took a leap. McAdoo really needs to keep him.
Victor Cruz is another matter and his health is the main issue he’s facing after missing all of this season and most of last season with multiple injuries. Who Cruz will be on the field, and his monetary value to the team, will likely be decided in the next couple of months and he may be set free.
