Ownership in statement: ‘McAdoo is our head coach and has our support’
The Giants haven’t fired a head coach in the middle of a season since 1976. On Monday, the franchise’s ownership quelled any speculation that it could happen again this year.
CEO John Mara and Chairman Steve Tisch released a statement one day after the Giants’ 31-21 loss to previously winless San Francisco, written “in response to media inquiries about the team’s 1-8 record, the team’s performance of the past two weeks in losses to the Rams and 49ers, and regarding status of head coach Ben McAdoo.”
“Ben McAdoo is our head coach and has our support,” the statement read. “We are in the midst of an extremely disappointing season. Our performance this year, particularly the past two weeks, is inexcusable and frustrating. While we appreciate that our fans are unhappy with what has occurred, nobody is more upset than we are.
“Our plan is to do what we have always done, which is to not offer a running commentary on the season. It is our responsibility to determine the reasons for our poor performance and at the end of the year, we will evaluate the 2017 season in its entirety and make a determination on how we move forward.”
McAdoo guided the Giants to an 11-5 record and NFC playoff berth in his head coaching debut last season, but just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong in his second year.
The team’s nine-game start to the season is the franchise’s worst since 1980. Injuries to a number of key starters piled up in October, but the Giants were on the cusp of 0-5 even before losing superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a season-ending ankle injury. They have not scored 25 points in any game this season.
And on Sunday, the defensive unit that was one of the league’s best last season yielded 31 points to a 49ers offense that totaled 30 points in its previously three games combined.
On a conference call Monday, McAdoo admitted for the first time that he saw a lack of effort at times on film from defensive players. Except he used coded language.
“The thing that was disappointing that showed up on film is the (lack of) desire to finish on a consistent basis,” McAdoo said. “There were plays that we were capable of making, and the desire to finish wasn’t consistent. I need to coach it better, and we need to do it better. Not every play, not every player, but it did show up on tape.”
All-Pro cornerback Janoris Jenkins, in particular, received strong criticism from fans and media for porous tackling on two different receptions that led to 49ers touchdowns.
McAdoo insisted he would not “throw anyone under the bus.”
“It’s something that it almost looks like at times we’re waiting for someone else to make a play instead of just pulling the trigger and making the play ourselves,” McAdoo said. “We have a 46-man roster on game day, and the players who are going to go out and do it the way we ask them to do it and do it on a consistent basis, they’re going to get a chance to play.”
The coaching staff has seven more games through New Year’s Eve to sort out those issues and field a competitive team. But the schedule gets no easier from here on out with the 6-3 Kansas City Chiefs coming to MetLife Stadium followed by trips to the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving, the Oakland Raiders, the Arizona Cardinals and three home games against all three NFC East rivals — who all remain in playoff contention — at in December.
Any distractions about the head coach’s job security are over — for now — but how much will it help?
“Only time will tell,” McAdoo said. “We’ll have to see how everybody responds, but again, my focus is as it always is: on the week of preparation and trying to put a good plan together, help these coaches and players any way I can putting a good product on the field and find a way to get better.”