Amid Eagles Interest Giants Name Ben McAdoo Head Coach

The New York Giants are done searching for a new head coach. After two weeks of interviews and rumors about who exactly would replace Tom Coughlin, the Giants feel they have their guy in Ben McAdoo, the team's offensive coordinator.

An in-house candidate, with a strong relationship with quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants had wanted McAdoo involved in the organization throughout the process of this search. When interviewing experienced head coaching candidates in Mike Smith and Doug Marrone, both men were believed to interested in retaining McAdoo as offensive coordinator had either been named the head coach. Now, McAdoo only has to answer to Giants ownership.

Perhaps the desire to just hire McAdoo into the head coaching position immediately had to do with speculation that the Philadelphia Eagles were keenly interested in naming him their head coach. The Giants probably feared that having McAdoo leave New York only to coach down I-95, in the division with the hated Eagles was too much to handle.

At 38-years old, McAdoo is the second youngest head coach in the NFL behind only Adam Gase of the Miami Dolphins. Gase is 37. Previously Mike McCoy (San Diego) and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh) were the youngest head coaches in the league as both men are 43.

He inherits a team that needs a lot of work on the defensive side of the ball. The Giants are expected to retain defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but Spags needs pass rushers and linebackers. The Giants have to address their lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball this off-season. Offensively, McAdoo knows what he has here. He has a 36-year old former Super Bowl MVP at quarterback, and an explosive (in more ways than one) wide out in Odell Beckham Jr. Yet, he needs to find a way to get something out a ground attack that was one of the worst in the NFL this year, and must find pieces to beef up the offensive line.

It will be interesting to see how McAdoo handles the pressure. Serving as a young assistant coach is one thing. Being a NFL head coach at such a ripe age is another. There will be pressure on McAdoo to turn things around. He is also coaching a franchise where GM Jerry Reese is already on the hot seat. If the Giants should stumble next year, Reese is likely out putting a lot more pressure on McAdoo with a new general manager.

This is not the first time the Giants have dipped from within to find a coach. They hired Ray Handley after Bill Parcells stepped down after the 1990 season. Handley turned out to be a disaster as a head coach. The Giants hope that McAdoo is no Handley and can get the franchise back moving in the right direction.