Giants Get Their Guy, Hire McAdoo As New Offensive Coordinator
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The man who will be in charge of revitalizing Eli Manning's career is the same coach who helped Aaron Rodgers maintain his excellence.
The Giants announced Tuesday night that Ben McAdoo has been hired as their new offensive coordinator.
His contract will be for two years, ESPN reported.
McAdoo, 36, was a highly sought-after target this offseason. The former assistant for the Green Bay Packers interviewed for offensive coordinator positions with the Giants and Miami Dolphins, drew interest from the Baltimore Ravens and discussed the vacant head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns, according to a report on NFL.com.
Packers quarterback Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy have repeatedly gushed about McAdoo, who spent the last two seasons as quarterbacks coach and the previous six as Green Bay's tight ends coach. Prior to that run he worked under McCarthy with both the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.
McAdoo will be tasked with revamping a Giants offense that went from explosive over several seasons to stagnant in 2013, playing a big role in why the team finished 7-9 and out of the playoffs for a second straight season.
Manning suffered through a dreadful season by his lofty standards, throwing an NFL- and career-high 27 interceptions to just 18 touchdown passes. The offensive line's protection of the 10th year, two-time Super Bowl MVP became a big issue as Manning was sacked a career-high 39 times.
The resulting chaos led to problems between Manning and his wide receivers. He never seemed to get on the same page with Hakeem Nicks, who had just 56 receptions for 896 yards, without once reaching the end zone. Victor Cruz, who was coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, was up and down before suffering an injury late in December that ended his season. He finished with 998 yards and four TDs, but three came in the opening game of the season.
Injuries crushed the Big Blue running game from the start, with Andre Brown going down with a broken leg during the preseason and David Wilson struggling with a neck injury that will require offseason surgery. The Giants turned to veterans Peyton Hillis and Brandon Jacobs to temporarily fill the voids.
As a result of the offense's struggles, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride retired, a move that many felt was orchestrated since the Giants front office said it really didn't want to force Gilbride out and head coach Tom Coughlin has always been loyal to his assistants.
Coughlin has also been called resistant to change, but the hiring of McAdoo, who is not part of the Giants family and will bring an entirely different approach to play-calling, shows Coughlin is very much ready for change in 2014.
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