Getty Ex-Giants head coach Ben McAdoo will interview for the Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator vacancy.
Before the Giants fired their last two head coaches, Joe Judge and Pat Shurmur, after two losing seasons a piece, Ben McAdoo started this horrific trend of failure as Tom Coughlin’s successor back in 2016.
The Giants axed McAdoo during the 2017 season after a 2-10 start, which included the heavily scrutinized decision to bench future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning.
After getting let go by the Giants, McAdoo, 44, was out of the NFL until accepting a position as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterbacks coach in 2020. He would then join his old pal Mike McCarthy in Dallas, where he served as a consultant for the Cowboys last season.
Now, McAdoo might be inching closer to receiving a second chance as a high ranking staff member in the near future. According to The Athletic, McAdoo will interview for the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator vacancy.
Former Giants head coach and current Cowboys consultant Ben McAdoo will interview for the Panthers’ offensive coordinator job Tuesday, per league sources.
McAdoo could potentially be put in place as Matt Rhule’s offensive coordinator in order to help resurrect the career of quarterback Sam Darnold, whose development has fallen off a cliff as of late.
In Darnold’s first season with the Panthers, he threw for just 2,527 yards, nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions and produced a 59.9% completion rate with a 4-7 record as a starter. Both the struggles of Darnold and the Panthers’ offense led to the firing of once promising offensive coordinator Joe Brady on December 8.
And with Rhule on the hot seat following a 5-12 record which resulted in a last-place finish in the NFC South in 2021, the pressure is on to find the right fit at offensive coordinator. And given McAdoo’s prior experience, he could wind up being the man for the job to help fix Darnold and the Panthers’ offense.
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McAdoo’s Résumé
McAdoo was the tight ends coach on McCarthy’s staff from 2006 to 2011 with the Green Bay Packers. And he later jettisoned himself into the conversation as a prospective offensive coordinator after Green Bay promoted him to be Aaron Rodgers’ quarterbacks coach in 2012, which is a role he held for two seasons.
From there, the Giants hired McAdoo to replace longtime offensive play caller Kevin Gilbride in 2014. And McAdoo’s system helped rejuvenate an aging veteran quarterback in Manning, who had a weak offensive line around him.
From 2014 to 2015 under McAdoo, the Giants’ offense was a top 10 ranked unit in the league and averaged 25 points per game. During this span, Manning threw for 8,842 yards, 65 touchdown passes and just 28 interceptions. He also made the Pro Bowl in 2015, which was his age-34 season.
After Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl champion head coach, resigned following the 2015 season, the Giants promoted McAdoo to the big chair.
And although McAdoo’s Giants initially saw some success during his rookie year as head coach, going 11-5 and clinching a wild card berth in 2016, it all came crashing down in year-two.
McAdoo coached just 12 more games for the Giants after their early exit from the playoffs in January 2017. The Giants fired both McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese on December 4, 2017.
Early Days
Prior to joining McCarthy in Green Bay, McAdoo was on the San Francisco 49ers‘ staff with him in 2005. During this season, McCarthy was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator, while McAdoo served as the offensive line coach and quality control coordinator.
McAdoo’s first gig in the NFL was as the New Orleans Saints’ offensive quality control coordinator in 2004.
The future NFL head coach and offensive coordinator spent a total of eight seasons in both the high school and college ranks from 1996 to 2003, before eventually breaking into the league.
McAdoo started out as an assistant coach at the high school level from 1996 to 1999. He was a graduate assistant at Michigan State in 2001, Fairfield University’s offensive line and tight ends coach in 2002 and lastly, a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh in 2003.