Benny With the Good Hair could be landing with another NFL team sooner than we all think.
We’re, of course, referring to Ben McAdoo, who spent the 2014-2017 seasons with the New York Giants, the first two as offensive coordinator and the last two as head coach. McAdd is reportedly being courted these days by Jerod Mayo, the new head coach of the New England Patriots, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
McAdoo, named as the Giants’ 17th head coach in franchise history on January 14, 2016, led the Giants to an 11-5 record in his first season as the team’s head coach, a record that also included its first playoff berth since the 2011 campaign.
However, the following year, things fell apart for him as the Giants not only had a rash of injuries but also some locker room issues resulting in player suspensions for team violations, all of which contributed to the team’s first 0-5 start since 2013.
McAdoo also became the first Giants head coach to be fired in-season since John McVay in 1976. McAdoo’s termination came amidst one of the organization’s biggest controversies that season when he decided to bench starting quarterback Eli Manning for Geno Smith, a move that was viewed as having been poorly handled and which created an uproar among the fan base and former players who perceived the head coach’s viewing of Manning as the root of the team’s problems.
When Smith and the Giants failed to beat the Oakland Raiders, McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese were relieved of their duties shortly after that, replaced by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams, respectively.
McAdoo sat out the remaining years of his Giants contract, finally resurfacing in the league in 202 as quarterbacks coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020. the following year, he was reunited with Mike McCarthy, with whom he had spent much of his early career, in Dallas as a consultant. In 2022, McAdoo replaced Joe Brady as the offensive coordinator on Matt Rhule’s Carolina Panthers staff.
If McAdoo does join the Patriots staff, Breer reports it would be as an assistant head coach role and as a sounding board to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.