Ranking the New York Giants Coaching Staff: Ben McAdoo’s First Crew
By Mike Luca
8. Mike Sullivan (Offensive Coordinator)
7. Frank Cignetti Jr. (Quarterbacks)
Priority number one on offense remains setting up Eli Manning for continued success, which McAdoo did to an extent. He just needs to decide who’s calling plays.
Until then, it’s difficult to offer a complete mark on Sullivan’s promotion from QB coach to OC. Similar to McAdoo’s elevation to head coach, underlying consistency of the No. 6 scoring offense’s scheme laced with new leadership is what’s key here. The Sully move is made identifiable and honorable in that regard.
The larger question being pressed for weeks is whether McAdoo wishes to secure full control of his play-calling prowess, delegate those duties to Sullivan while he adapts to being a head coach or leave the matter open on a case-by-case basis.
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The option of fluidity is the unspoken goal of the offensive coaches, but roles and boundaries must be roughly defined before Sullivan can be rendered anything other than a yes-man.
Speaking of which, Cignetti Jr. was brought on board mainly do to his Indiana University of Pennsylvania certificate akin to McAdoo’s. Fired as Rams OC this passing December, there’s merit in Jeff Fisher claiming the league’s worst offense wasn’t heavily Cignetti’s fault.
True, Nick Foles played disastrously in 2015, but Cignetti Jr. can be trusted more when strictly focused on the quarterbacks, a crop in St. Louis still ravaged by injuries since 2013. Go back to Sam Bradford’s last 16-game campaign in 2012 to unearth hope in the hire.
Naturally, Eli knows what he’s doing by now. Observing his career spiking into his later thirties, though, an established sense of comfort for him and McAdoo are gratefully upheld with Sully and Cignetti overall, sans Joe Philbin.
Next: Solari Power