FALL FROM GRACE
The free-falling New York Giants put an end to the tenure of head coach Ben McAdoo,
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.— Believing the team was spiralling out of control, the New York Giants went out of character by making two major inseason moves, firing coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese.
With the team reeling at 2-10 in a season where most felt it was capable of challenging for a Super Bowl, coowners John Mara and Steve Tisch reached the decision Monday. It came less than a day after the Giants lost in Oakland, with quarterback Eli Manning benched and the offensively inept team performing poorly again.
“We agreed that wholesale changes to this organization needed to be made to get us back to the team we expect it to be,” Mara said at a hastily called news conference. “We also agreed it was pointless to wait any longer to make these changes.”
Defensive co-ordinator Steve Spagnuolo will take over as interim coach for the final four games. He coached the St. Louis Rams from 2009-11. Mara did not know whether Manning will return as the starter this weekend against Dallas, saying the decision will be made by Spagnuolo. Mara said neither McAdoo nor Reese was surprised by the decision, saying they were both professionals. He said his meeting with Reese was more emotional because the two had worked together since 1994.
“I don’t think there was any one final straw,” Mara said.
“I just think that where we are as a franchise right now, you know, we’re 2-10. We’ve kind of been spiralling out of control. I just felt like we needed a complete overhaul. I don’t think there was any one event or one final act to precipitate that.”
Many felt the benching earlier last week of Manning, the face of the franchise and a two-time Super Bowl MVP, was the deciding factor.
The moves come less than a year after the 40-year-old McAdoo ended a four-year Giants playoff drought in his first season, going 11-6. That record was largely aided by Reese’s outstanding work in the free agent market that rebuilt the defence.
Afifth Super Bowl was in sight if the offensive line could improve. It fizzled from the start. The Giants lost their first five games. The line was inept. The defence underperformed, then the injury bug decimated the roster.
“This has been the perfect storm this season,” Mara said. “Everything that could have gone wrong this season has gone wrong.”
Assistant general manager Kevin Abrams will take over on an interim basis for Reese, who became GM in 2007 and had two Super Bowl wins on his resumé. But the Giants missed the playoffs four times in the last five years, and his failure to address those offensive line problems this past offseason played a major role in a horrible season.
Mara said Abrams and Spagnuolo will be offered the chance to continue in their interim jobs. Former general manager Ernie Accorsi will be a consultant in hiring a new GM, whom Mara wants in place before a coach.
Mara has candidates in mind for general manager and said it’s possible a new GM could be in place before the season ends.
The moves came less than a week after McAdoo made one of the biggest mistakes of his short tenure, mishandling the decision to bench Manning. Mara was forced to address the matter the following day and said he wished the decision had been handled better.
McAdoo had a 13-16 record, and his firing is the first mid-season head coaching move by the Giants since Bill Arnsparger was replaced seven games into the 1976 season by John McVay. The 2-10 mark is the Giants’ worst since they were 2-10 in 1976, and their worst since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978.
McAdoo’s first season was exceptional. His second was a fiasco.
“Our team is not good enough,” Mara said.