The firing is not surprising, it was just a matter of time, especially after reports surfaced on Sunday that the Giants were planning to make the change within 24 hours after their game. The final straw for owner John Mara was the benching of Eli Manning, a clear power play by both McAdoo and Reese to prove they can win games without the former Super Bowl MVP. Instead, what the dynamic duo of duchebagdom didn't realize is how popular Manning is. A huge groundswell of anger rose out of the benching from fans, media and current and former players that it became obvious that McAdoo didn't have much time left.
McAdoo, who went 13-15 as a head coach over nearly two years at the helm becomes the first in-season firing by the Giants since 1976. At 2-10 it had to be done. Not only was the team playing poorly, but McAdoo had terrible relationships with his players. He suspended Janorius Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers Cromartie because of in-house disputes, and always clashed with Manning through the press.
The biggest relationship faux pas outside of Manning had to be McAdoo's bizarre handling of Odell Beckham Jr. He failed to discipline him after Beckham spent time partying in Miami just days before a playoff game in Green Bay. Beckham followed that up with a horrid performance with dropped passes all over the place, as the Giants got destroyed by the Packers in the wild card game.
Then this season, after Beckham imitated a peeing dog and was taunting fans in Philadelphia, McAdoo did nothing to control his troubled wide receiver. Word was during the season that a lot of players in the locker room took exception to the fact that McAdoo treated Beckham with kid gloves, leading to more clubhouse unrest.
On the field, McAdoo was clueless. His game-plans were uninspiring, and when the team did win games, it was mostly at the expense of the other teams mistakes.
As for Reese, his drafts were truly awful. He failed to address the offensive line issue over the past three drafts, creating one of the worst units in the league. In addition, he failed to find a legitimate running threat to take pressure of Eli Manning, and outside of his spending spree in 2016, did little to improve the team as the years went on. At lot of people believe that when Tom Coughlin was the head coach, Reese never signed players that Coughlin really wanted or needed to succeed. As a result, the Giants were mediocre in Coughlin's final four years at the helm before he was fired.Hubris did both McAdoo and Reese in and the Giants will be better off moving from both of them right now.
Assistant General Manager Kevin Abrams will take over for Reese on a interim basis. Chances are he will not be the full time replacement. The Giants should go out and find someone who can be dynamic with recruitment and the salary cap. That person does not exist in the franchise.
Steve Spagnoluo will take over as interim head coach. Spags was a finalist for the head job two years ago, and is a very popular figure in the Giants office. Spags is no stranger to being a head coach, he was the HC of the St. Louis Rams for three years where he compiled a record of 10-38. This is a great opportunity for Spagnoluo to prove he deserves to remain with the Giants either as the head coach or defensive coordinator.
What's next? The Giants will almost certainly look for a general manager, and ideally would like to have one in place before they get a head coach. If Mara and Steve Tisch are smart, they will let the GM pick the head coach. However in recent years we see the coach and GM get hired at the same time more and more, i.e. the Jets with Todd Bowles and Mike Mccaganan.
Steve Spagnoluo: The Giants interim head coach is going to get a shot here to prove he should be the full time coach. Wouldn't be shocked if the team plays well under him in light of the McAdoo firing. However, do the Giants want to keep him, especially with his connections to the previous two head coaches? Plus when he got the chance to coach with the Rams, his teams were awful.
Matt Patricia: The Patriots defensive coordinator is one of the hot young candidates on the market. He was interviewed by a number of teams last year. A lot of people like him as a coaching candidate, but let's remember that Bill Belichick disciples usually don't turn out to be great head coaches when they leave Foxboro.
Mike Smith: The former Falcons head coach is currently the defensive coordinator with the Buccaneers. He was 66-46 in seven years as the Falcons coach, and took the team to the NFC Title game in 2012 where they lost to the 49ers. Smith is also a Coughlin confidant, and a lot of people point to similarities between the two. He would be an intriguing hire, especially if the Giants feel they can win right away next year.
Josh McDaniels: Like Patricia, McDaniels is another Belichick disciple. However, unlike Patricia, the Giants better avoid McDaniels at all costs. If he became the coach, the Giants need their heads examined. McDaniels was a total disaster of Ben McAdoo like proportions in Denver years ago. He's been great as the Patriots offensive coordinator, but how much of that greatness is tied to quarterback Tom Brady. McDaniels is a candidate, but the Giants should pass.
Bill Cowher: Ummm, yeah, this is not happening. Cowher is happy in television, but there were rumors years ago that if there was one job he'd consider its the Giants. Perhaps Big Blue's relationship to the Steelers would be a big reason for Cowher's interest. Cowher hasn't coached in over 10 years, and the game has changed a lot since he last coached the Steelers in 2006. Never say never though, because Herman Edwards did leave his cushy TV job at ESPN this week to coach at Arizona State. So anything is possible I guess.
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