Even with fans lining up, pitchforks and torches in hand demanding the termination of Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants have decided to stay the course in what has been a disaster of a year. And this embattled team finally got something right by keeping McAdoo around for the season’s final seven games.
Wait, say what?
Yes, this Giants season is horrendous and disappointing at 1-8 but the team isn’t going anywhere this year. At best if the Giants won out, they would break-even, a .500 team that wouldn’t be making the playoffs.
So is firing McAdoo right now, even in the wake of a disastrous loss this past Sunday at the San Francisco 49ers worth it?
The answer is a resounding no.
Giants ownership on Monday issued a statement that pointed to their overall commitment to McAdoo for the rest of 2017, this despite what they called a season that is “inexcusable and frustrating.”
First off, the Giants and their fanbase at this advanced juncture in the year shouldn’t be rooting for more wins or to turn around this season. At this point, minus their star wide receiver duo of Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, they are what they are. They need a revamp on both sides of the ball and that won’t happen this year.
It has to be drastic, it might painful. But it will be worth it.
A couple wins and their draft position could suffer dramatically, maybe even drop them out of the top five picks in next spring’s NFL Draft. To keep McAdoo and his failing ways is a calculated decision that the Giants can and will continue to be inept under his watch, something that lines them up well to start that aforementioned revamp of the roster.
But beyond the hope that McAdoo can fail, a mindset that in all honesty is the best thing for this team, Giants ownership would be sending an important signal to the league if they retain their coach through the rest of this horrid season.
It shows patience and a certain level of class to do so, a commitment and dedication that the organization is above a hurried or knee-jerk decision. There will be a pool of coaching candidates this winter who will line up for the Giants job. This organization and its history are too good to ignore, despite the current debacle.
Retaining McAdoo for the final seven games, no matter how painful it may be, sends a strong message to any candidate for the job that the Giants aren’t going to cut ties when the going gets tough.
Now McAdoo’s time with the team along with general manager Jerry Reese likely comes to an end at the end of the year and it makes sense to retain both until that time. The Giants aren’t making the postseason, they aren’t progressing as a team.
This is a veteran roster after all that needs to be blown up with very little viable young talent on the two-deep. There’s no advantage to making the move right now or firing either one.
Instead, Giants fans, root for those losses to mount and hope that the head coach sent in to clean up this mess earns the long-term commitment from Giants ownership.
It’s the only way.
