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The NFL is a fickle beast.
Last year at this time, the Giants were 8-4 en route to an 11-5 season and their first playoff appearance since 2011. First year head coach Ben McAdoo tied the Giants’ franchise record held by Dan Reeves for most regular season wins by a first year head coach.
Fast forward one year, the Giants are a head-scratching 2-10 and Ben McAdoo is seeking new opportunities. The Giants fired McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese on Monday morning after meeting with co-owner John Mara, ESPN reports. Reese had been the Giants GM for a decade and has two Super Bowl victories to add to his resume.
The firing came less than one week after McAdoo sent the Giants fan base into hysterics by benching Eli Manning, in turn ending the quarterback’s 210 straight game streak under center. That streak has only been eclipsed by Brett Favre in the history of the NFL. The decision was so poorly mishandled that John Mara was forced to admit he wished it had been handled better.
If one were to defend McAdoo in the midst of a historically bad season, they’d probably point to the fact that the G-Men lost star wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall in the same game back in Week 5. Anti-McAdoo people will reference the 40-year-old losing the locker room–amounting to anonymous players going to the media to take exception to McAdoo’s coaching style three weeks back.
“He’s got us going 80 percent on Saturdays before we get on a plane to play a game. It’s wild. Changed our off day. He’s dishing out fines like crazy. Suspended two of our stars when we need them the most. Throws us under the bus all the time. He’s ran us into the ground and people wonder why we’ve been getting got.”
Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will reportedly be the interim head coach.
[h/t ESPN]