In a development New York Giants fans can consider ironic, former head coach Ben McAdoo is a candidate for the Cleveland Browns’ vacant offensive coordinator position.
McAdoo interviewed with the Browns Tuesday. He has history with Browns general manager John Dorsey. McAdoo spent eight seasons (2006-13) as a tight ends and quarterbacks coach on Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers staff. Dorsey, a former Packers player, spent 13 seasons (2000-12) in the team’s front office.
McAdoo left the Packers to become Giants offensive coordinator. With McAdoo as offensive coordinator, the Giants averaged 23.8 points per game in 2014 and 26.2 points in 2015. He succeeded Tom Coughlin as head coach in 2016, in part, to keep him from leaving for the division rival Philadelphia Eagles.
The Giants finished 2016 with an 11-5 record and earned their first postseason berth since winning Super Bowl XLVI despite having an offense near the bottom of the league (19.4 points per game, ranked 26th). In 2017, the Giants’ offensive woes were magnified with five consecutive losses to begin the season that the team never recovered from. McAdoo was fired Dec. 4 with general manager Jerry Reese after a 2-10 start and the benching of quarterback Eli Manning.
The Giants averaged 15.4 points per game in 2017 with only the Browns scoring fewer points with 14.6 per game.
McAdoo’s record as head coach was 13-16 (13-15 regular season, 0-1 postseason). The Giants finished 2017 with a 3-13 record, second only to the Browns’ 0-16 campaign. The 2017 Browns joined the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to go winless in a 16-game season.
If McAdoo is hired by the Browns, he will recognize quickly he’s not in East Rutherford anymore.
The Browns are currently the NFL’s most snake-bitten franchise. Since reentering the league in the 1999 season, the Browns have one postseason appearance (a loss), two winning seasons, and the NFL’s longest current playoff drought (15 seasons). They’ve gone through nine head coaches and 28 starting quarterbacks who collectively complied a record of 88-216.
In the same time span, the Giants have eight postseason appearances (including two Super Bowl victories) and nine winning seasons. The Giants had three head coaches and five starting quarterbacks with a record of 147-148.
McAdoo also interviewed for a quarterbacks coach position with the Denver Broncos. The position was filled by his former offensive coordinator, Mike Sullivan.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
