Getty The Carolina Panthers are hiring ex-New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo as their offensive coordinator.
Ben McAdoo is about to receive a shot at redemption in the NFL.
The ex-New York Giants head coach is expected to be hired as the next offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, as NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on January 21.
McAdoo initially had success as the Giants’ offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2015, which saw his units rank in the top 10 in the league in back-to-back seasons. During this span, quarterback Eli Manning threw 65 touchdown passes and made the Pro Bowl in his age-34 season in 2015.
As a result, the Giants named McAdoo as Tom Coughlin’s successor, promoting him to head coach of the team after the ’15 season.
And at first, this move worked out. McAdoo’s Giants went 11-5 and made a playoff appearance during his rookie year as head coach in 2016. However, it would all come crashing down shortly thereafter. New York got off to a 2-10 start in the following season, and McAdoo, who was heavily scrutinized for benching Manning, was fired along with general manager Jerry Reese on December 4, 2017.
After getting let go by the Giants, McAdoo was out of football until taking a position as the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020. He was then reunited with his old friend Mike McCarthy in Dallas, where he spent this past season as an offensive consultant for the Cowboys.
Now, McAdoo will have an opportunity to revive his NFL coaching career with the Panthers in 2022.
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Darnold-Rhule’s Savior?
With Panthers head coach Matt Rhule on the hot seat after going 5-12 and finishing in last-place in the NFC South in 2021, there was a ton of pressure on him to bring in the right offensive coordinator.
Last year, quarterback Sam Darnold struggled immensely, and so did the Panthers’ offense, which saw offensive coordinator Joe Brady get fired on December 8.
Now, McAdoo will not only have a chance to redeem himself, but he can also play the role of savior to both Rhule and Darnold.
If McAdoo can’t fix Darnold and/or the Panthers’ offense, Rhule and his entire staff could be looking for new jobs come 2023. But if McAdoo can implement a successful system, he could possibly receive another chance at becoming a head coach in the NFL down the road.
McAdoo’s Background
McAdoo, 44, began his coaching career in 1996 as an assistant at the high school level, which is where he would reside until 2001.
McAdoo then became a graduate assistant at Michigan State University. And in 2002, McAdoo left Michigan State for a job with Fairfield University as their offensive line coach and tight ends coach, before joining the University of Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant one season later.
The following year, McAdoo finally broke into the NFL as a quality control coordinator for the New Orleans Saints in 2004. After spending one season with the Saints, McAdoo moved onto the San Francisco 49ers as their offensive line coach and quality control coordinator in 2005.
But once again, McAdoo was only in San Francisco for one season. Only this time, it was because the 49ers’ offensive coordinator, McCarthy, landed a head coaching gig with the Green Bay Packers and decided to bring McAdoo with him.
So, McAdoo followed McCarthy to Green Bay, becoming the tight ends coach of the Packers for the next six seasons from 2006 to 2011. In 2012, McAdoo was promoted to Aaron Rodgers’ quarterbacks coach, and after two seasons in this position, he earned his first high ranking job in the NFL.
The Giants hired McAdoo as their offensive coordinator in 2014, and he’d get promoted to head coach after two seasons on the job.