Giants’ Brass Fail McAdoo, Create Brown-gate for Rookie Coach
By Curt Macysyn
Forget the honeymoon, Ben McAdoo; welcome to “Brown-gate”!
If polled in the off season, many fans would have thought that a new coach, with many new players, would seamlessly morph into a playoff contender.
That has not happened.
This week, McAdoo got confronted with a noticeable lack of progress on the field, and a crisis off the field. His primary, or perhaps only, responsibility remains between the lines. And his employers are conspicuous by their absence on item two.
This cannot be a recipe for success.
Brown-gate Dumped on McAdoo
In reality, rookie head coaches are not perfect, and McAdoo will continue to fail and make rookie mistakes. On the other hand, the rotting bag of fish heads, now called “Brown-gate” by me, unceremoniously handed to McAdoo, has not made his job any easier.
“The rotting bag of fish heads, now called ‘Brown-gate’ by me, unceremoniously handed to McAdoo, has not made his job any easier.”
Curt Macysyn, GMen HQ
While McAdoo has to take full responsibility for the on-field product, team president and CEO John Mara (the titular face of the franchise) and general manager Jerry Reese (his trusted right hand man) have put McAdoo in a no-win position; first through their action, and then through their inaction in the newly minted “Brown-gate”
Check out this exchange posted on Giants.com between McAdoo and the media on Aug. 18, 2016:
Q: How much did [domestic violence allegations] go into the consideration of re-signing [Brown] this offseason?
A: That’s a better question for Jerry (Reese).
Q: Did the team conduct its own investigation into this arrest?
A: I stay in my lane. I don’t have any information on that.
Latest on Brown-gate
Fast forward two days, and report by NJ Advance Media on Aug. 20, 2016 shows how little transparency continues to be shed. “Reese declined comment when approached by an NJ Advance Media reporter in the press box prior to the game. Brown declined comment in a brief meeting with reporters at his locker after the game. Mara also declined comment to reporters after the game, but allowed the possibility he may eventually address the situation.”
“Check with me again next week, but I don’t have anything to say,” Mara said.
Previously, Jerry Reese has been inclined to have his cake and eat it too in his tenure as Giants’ general manager. On Jan. 5, 2016, as the team was ushering out Tom Coughlin, Reese had this to say as reported by the New York Post.
“I take full responsibility for every player that’s been on this roster from the time I was the Director of Player Personnel to right now. … Everybody is involved, but I take full responsibility, so let me put that on me right here right now for everybody,” Reese said. “The roster is up to me, and I take full responsibility for everything that’s happened.”
“The roster is up to me, and I take full responsibility for everything that’s happened.”
Jerry Reese on Jan. 4, 2016
Then why does Reese continue to allow McAdoo to twist in the wind?
Brown-gate Goes National
Respected NFL Insider Mike Florio did not have glowing things to say about the Giants’ organization in a column posted on NBC Sport’s Pro Football Talk on Aug. 20, 2016.
In this instance, Florio does not absolve the NFL for a myriad of issues on the situation. The NFL clearly veered away from its six-game ban for domestic violence suspensions. In addition, the league hangs its hat on Molly Brown’s refusal to testify.
“Now, with one of the most proud (some would say arrogant) organizations in all of sports under fire, don’t hold your breath for a personnel decision that could be perceived as bowing to the will of the unwashed masses.”
Mike Florio, NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk
To his point, the league got to the road block that it probably sought. Given the status of the Giants in the NFL, most of beat writers steer away from controversy. It becomes an area that Florio hits the G-Men head-on.
“Apart from the substantive concerns, the Brown case continues to have a troubling lack of transparency. The Giants and the NFL concealed the situation, even though the arrest was a matter of public record, for more than a year. And the Giants re-signed Brown, even though they knew about the arrest.”
As for the future of Brown-gate, and the Giants’ response, or lack of one, Florio pulls no punches.
“The Giants had a chance to walk that walk [on domestic violence] in March, and they didn’t. Now, with one of the most proud (some would say arrogant) organizations in all of sports under fire, don’t hold your breath for a personnel decision that could be perceived as bowing to the will of the unwashed masses.”
It’s about time for the front office to “man up” on Brown-gate.