This Sunday when the New York Giants take on the Carolina Panthers, they’ll come face-to-face with their former head coach, Ben McAdoo.
McAdoo is in his first season as the offensive coordinator for the Panthers, and his first outing of the season didn’t go like he would have hoped. He returns to New York with thoughts that he knows how to win, but he might be in for a surprise.
McAdoo joined the Giants in 2014 as the offensive coordinator under Tom Coughlin, where he would remain for two seasons. Following Coughlin’s departure, McAdoo was promoted to head coach and the Giants improved under his direction. At least initially.
In his first season as coach, McAdoo’s club went 11-5 but things ended with a wildcard loss to the Green Bay Packers. His second season was the polar opposite of his first. The Giants went 2-10 before McAdoo was fired mid-season.
As offensive coordinator, there’s no question that McAdoo knows what he is doing. And the environment isn’t going to phase him, either. He has bounced around quite a bit since leaving the Giants, and he likely wants to prove he is worth his wage, but this is a Giants team he hasn’t seen before.
The entire league was awakened last week when the Giants rolled into Tennessee and clawed their way to victory. McAdoo is no different.
Only a handful of players from McAdoo’s tenure in New York remain, and none of the front office or coaching staff are the same. He’s learning on the fly and watching the Giants along with everyone else. He may think he has a plan — that he’s ready for what the Giants bring to the field — but if you’ve seen the video of Brian Daboll, Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard celebrating last Sunday, then you know that’s a tall task.
Brian Daboll: Leader of men. pic.twitter.com/W4e0qJFpNy
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) September 11, 2022
The Giants haven’t been this united in a very long time.
That’s not to say the Panthers will be a pushover — they won’t. But they’re going to want to beat McAdoo as much as he’s going to want to beat them.
