Giants fire HC Ben McAdoo, GM Jerry Reese amid lost season
After a 2-10 season thus far, owner John Mara has elected to clean house, firing his head coach and general manager
After only 28 games with the headset, Ben McAdoo has been fired by the Giants. Longtime general manager, Jerry Reese, was sent packing as well.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will be the interim head coach, while assistant general manager Kevin Abrams will take over for Reese.
Spagnuolo has previous experience as a head coach with the Rams from 2009-11. He is a defensive-minded coach, as he has spent almost his entire career coaching on that side of the ball, including two stints as the defensive coordinator of the Giants.
McAdoo finishes his time in New York with a 13-15 record, bogged down by a 2-10 start to this season. He previously served as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2014-15.
Reese had been the general manager since 2007, overseeing two Super Bowl wins in 2008 and 2012.
Benching starting quarterback Eli Manning in favor of journeyman Geno Smith may have been the last straw for McAdoo. After Smith failed to beat the Oakland Raiders Sunday, who were without Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, the writing was almost certainly on the wall.
Reese’s departure was somewhat surprising, as there had not been much discussion of this move. However, owner John Mara felt that cleaning house was necessary for a team that has a murky future, as Eli Manning’s successor could very well be drafted this coming April.
Now, Abrams and Mara will presumably take overdraft day responsibilities. They’ll likely end up with a top-five pick and quarterback may be the biggest concern on the roster, as analysts have pegged UCLA’s Josh Rosen as a possible selection.
The franchise is embarking on a very uncertain future, as the team lacks in almost every category. Eli Manning will more than likely come back as the team’s starting quarterback and he may very well retake the job next week.
The team has yet to give Davis Webb a shot to be the future and Manning’s future in the league is undoubtedly coming to a close. Odell Beckham Jr. will return next year, the defensive line will remain mostly intact and the two star defensive backs, Landon Collins and Janoris Jenkins, will stick around. Pretty much everything else is a question mark.
Next: Five players whose stock is down for 2018 draft
With the franchise enduring a change of guard, it will be interesting to see who Mara hands the reins to. It will obviously be a high-profile job, but the coaching market will be largely unknown until the season concludes.