NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Giants will promote Ben McAdoo to head coach. At 38 years old, McAdoo is among the youngest head coaches in NFL history and just 3 years older than his starting quarterback! Rapoport also reported that Eli Manning paid a visit to Giants ownership to vouch for a McAdoo promotion.
Hiring a young coach has been a mixed bag; Lane Kiffin got the head coaching gig with the Raiders at 31 and didn’t last long. Josh McDaniels and Raheem Morris were both 32 when they were hired as head coaches of the Broncos and Buccaneers respectively. They, too, met the same fate as Kiffin.
But then there are young head coaches that went on to win Super Bowls like John Madden (age 32), Bill Cowher (34), Mike Tomline (34), and Jon Gruden (34). Those in the organization believe Ben will fall into the latter group.
With the First Pick
McAdoo becomes the 18th head coach in Giants history and might be the youngest to take the reins. He’s now only 151 wins shy of tying Giants all-time winningest coach, Steve Owen, who was at the helm for more than 20 seasons. Will we see McAdoo still calling the shots in 2036? Whoa.
Some in the Giants’ organization have compared McAdoo to a “young Andy Reid”, according to Rapoport. Reid has 161 wins in his 17 year career, is 50 wins above .500, and has 6 division championships to his credit but also has 0 Super Bowl wins and only 1 conference championship despite 20 playoff games. Andy’s accolades came from the early 2000s when he won the AP Coach of the Year (2002), Sporting News Coach of Year (2000, 2002), Pro Football Weekly Coach of Year (2002), Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of Year (2000, 2002). The mustached one is also on the Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team.
The big question to Giants fans is: would you take McAdoo for 14 seasons and multiple playoff appearances, but no Vince Lombardi trophies?
Rapoport additionally reports that Steve Spagnuolo is expected to remain the team’s defensive coordinator. Though the Giants defense ranked among the worst in the league, many cited the team’s lack of talent and the personnel’s inability to execute, not the play-calling from Spags. Reporter Kim Jones noted that multiple players have come forward to say the right play-call was in place, the team just didn’t execute.