THE RELATE SHOW
Connecting with players — if not fans yet — McAdoo gets job done
BEN McADOO has won games, nine of them to be exact. Soon enough, he likely will secure the first playoff berth for the Giants in five years, a time span that feels to infinity and beyond to the loyalists who live and die with their beloved Big Blue.
But has Ben McAdoo won over the hearts and minds of the Giants loyalists? No, he has not. Not yet, anyway. A development both curious and unusual is going down as the Giants are going up, up and away in this season of rediscovery. McAdoo has given ownership exactly what it craved: an injection of youth, fresh ideas mixed in with many of Tom Coughlin’s core values and, superseding all else, a winning record. This scenario almost always sparks a cascade of praise and tribute to the new coach.
Rather than fully embrace McAdoo, fans have more often than not held him an arm’s length away. The 9-4 record is wonderful, but more a byproduct of terrific defense than anything the Giants have accomplished with the ball in their possession. Everyone knows McAdoo is Mr. Offense. He is the mastermind of an attack that has never hit stride, and the later it gets in the season, the shabbier it appears. In the minds of more than some, it is almost as if McAdoo is along for the ride.
Fans were introduced to him as the head man when he wore on oversized suit to his introductory press conference. There is no love for his oversized play chart or his flat answers to basic questions.
There can be no dispute about this: McAdoo is no fraud. He is who he is and does not try to be anything else. This is his first time around the head-coaching block and once he grows more familiar with the neighborhood, there is little doubt he will soften some, let his public guard down, now and then.
McAdoo has unquestionably struck a chord with his players, but not in the classic sense. He leads not by ego but by delegation. This is not the norm, especially from a novice head coach — they usually want to control everything. McAdoo empowers members of his staff to motivate in their own way and allows for self-expression from his players. Again, this is a highly nontraditional approach.
His youth has served him well. At 39, the Giants viewed McAdoo as the perfect age to relate to — drumroll, please — those darn Millennials, with their short attention spans, vacant stares into their smart phones and need to
always know why. “All I know is what I know,’’ McAdoo told The Post. “I do know having an open-door policy and welcoming any type of communication — good, bad or ugly — helps. Being able to have those conversations that aren’t necessarily pleasant is something that will help us moving forward.’’ He made an early impression with players by talking about race, a white man from Homer City, Pa., speaking to a room filled primarily with African-Americans. He did away with Coughlin’s strict dress code for road games — shirts, ties and jackets — for a seemingly simple reason: “I don’t like to dress that way,’’ he said. The more comfortable alternative: Dress slacks or dress jeans (no rips), dress shoes or boots, dress shirt.
“The head coach wears dress jeans,’’ McAdoo said. “Where I grew up the best players weren’t always the guys that could afford to dress the best. I think what you wear doesn’t dictate the way you play on the field. I think the focus needs to be about what you’re gonna do in preparation for the ballgame, not what you’re wearing to get ready to play the ballgame.’’
Plus, McAdoo saw another benefit to the relaxed attire.
“Their personality can come out a little more with that,’’ he said.
This is an exceedingly popular change.
“More laid-back, casual look, which is always fun,’’ Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “Most guys are somewhat not comfortable wearing suits so it’s a good thing. He tends to be more player friendly, like a players’ coach, try to understand the players and letting ’ em feel comfortable and be themselves and be at their best.’’
Under McAdoo, there is more music playing and everything is paced more quickly — just the way the players like it. He has a feel for them because, while he is older than them, in some cases, not by much.
“He knows how to captivate the younger generation’s attention span by keeping it poignant and simple and straightforward and honest,’’ said long snapper Zak DeOssie, 32. “From both sides of the spectrum, whether you claim to be a millennial or not, he has an uncanny way of delivering the message and also connecting on the same level as the players.’’
McAdoo is not charismatic and is not trying to be. He may not have won over the hearts and minds of the fans just yet, but winning has a way of turning like into love. McAdoo has ushered in winning. Adula
tion can wait.