Former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo did not wait long to give us his first boneheaded moment with his new team.
At his April 19 press conference, which you can watch in full here, McAdoo, the new offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers, was asked directly whether Sam Darnold is Carolina’s starting quarterback.
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“Sam is our starting quarterback, yes,” McAdoo answered.
The answer was definitive, despite Darnold’s struggles last season. The only other quarterback on the roster at the moment is former XFL star P.J. Walker, but the Panthers could add a quarterback with the sixth pick in next week’s NFL draft. If they did select a quarterback, he wouldn’t face insurmountable competition to become the starting signal caller.
McAdoo quickly realized he’d misspoken when answering the Darnold question because he started backtracking. Enjoy this edit from CBS Sports, complete with the SpongeBob timecard.
“You know, one of the things I’ve been working on is being better at talking to you people,” McAdoo said. “Announcing the quarterback here, I just put my foot in my mouth. That wasn’t something I should have said.”
“Sam is our starting quarterback, yes.” – Panthers OC Ben McAdoo
“That wasn’t something I should have said.” – Panthers OC Ben McAdoo a short while later
Classic McAdoo!
During his time in New York, McAdoo was often ridiculed for moments like these. Although he led the Giants to an 11-5 record and a postseason berth in 2016, the following season was a disaster. McAdoo didn’t even make it through the season; both he and former general manager Jerry Reese were fired after a 2-10 start.
After the Giants terminated him in 2017, McAdoo was out of the NFL entirely for two full seasons. He resurfaced as a quarterbacks coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, but he was not retained when Urban Meyer became head coach in 2021. McAdoo spent last season as a consultant with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Panthers’ coaching staff in January.
If there’s one thing working in McAdoo’s favor in Carolina, it’s that he could end up with the top quarterback in this year’s draft. In their latest joint mock draft for ESPN, analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have Liberty’s Malik Willis going to the Panthers as the first quarterback off the board.
McAdoo’s Other Embarrassing Press Conference Moments
As bad as McAdoo’s Darnold gaffe was, it’s probably not his most embarrassing moment talking to the press. That spot has to be reserved for his first press conference as head coach of the Giants, when he showed up in a suit that was several sizes too big for him.
Twitter spent the whole day dunking on McAdoo for his suit, then the New York Daily News delivered the knockout blow with its back page:
Ben McAdoo (and his suit) make the @NYDNSports back page …
Oof.
The Giants should have known that it wasn’t going to work out the second McAdoo showed up in that suit, but it would take another embarrassing press conference moment to ultimately solidify that he was not head coaching material. That moment came in November 2017, after a 51-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. McAdoo was asked what he told the team at halftime, when they were trailing by 17.
This is so hilariously depressing
The answer? Deafening silence.
McAdoo was fired one month later after a 24-17 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
New York’s Rotating Door at HC Since McAdoo
When the Giants moved on from Tom Coughlin following the 2015 season, they thought they’d make a smooth transition into the Ben McAdoo era. What they didn’t think is that they’d be making another transition two years later. And another two years after that. And yet another two years after that.
McAdoo went 13-15 (.464) in 28 games as Giants head coach. His replacement, Pat Shurmur, was even worse. In two seasons (2018 and 2019), Shurmur’s teams went 9-23 (.281). Under Joe Judge the past two seasons, the Giants went 10-23 (.303).
Now under Brian Daboll and new general manager Joe Schoen, the Giants hope they have a regime that will last more than two seasons.
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Ben McAdoo Has Boneheaded Moment at First Panthers Press Conference