The Giants announced what we already knew on Wednesday night: They're hiring Ben McAdoo as their new head coach.
"I have been preparing for this moment my entire professional life, " McAdoo said.
Ben McAdoo officially named the 17th Head Coach in #Giants Franchise History! ? | https://t.co/buuDacB7id pic.twitter.com/s8DnjvxwsF
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 14, 2016
Here's three things to know about the hire:
1. Continuity is key: If there's one thing about this hire that should be inspiring, it's Eli Manning's production over the past two years. Eli had three 4,000-yard passing seasons before McAdoo arrived in New York and only one above 4,400 yards. Since McAdoo's arrival, he's had a pair of 4,400-yard seasons, thrown for 30-plus touchdowns in back-to-back years, thrown only 14 interceptions in back-to-back seasons (he previously had two with less than 15) and completed more than 62.5 percent of his passes in both seasons.
McAdoo took a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback and got the most out of him on the field. Doesn't hurt to have Odell Beckham of course, but Eli's arguably getting better as a passer under the guy who will be his current coach.
Blowing that up when the biggest thing in the NFL is having a quarterback would be insane.
2. Holding off a rival: What would really be a disaster is the Giants getting rid of Tom Coughlin and then somehow losing McAdoo to a division rival. The Eagles, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, were interested in hiring McAdoo as their new coach and were making moves as recently as Wednesday to try and procure his services.
The Giants swooped in and locked their guy down, ensuring Philly couldn't steal him. Someone else wanting to date your girlfriend isn't worth postponing a breakup for.
3. Lemme upgrade? Here's the biggest question -- is McAdoo plus Joe Philbin (presumably his offensive coordinator) an upgrade over Coughlin plus McAdoo? There are lots of caveats here because we don't know if McAdoo stays if Coughlin is in, and we don't know if Joe Philbin (who worked with McAdoo in Green Bay) is definitely coming.
But there are questions about just how much this new staff can really get out of the Giants if the roster remains the same. If they fall short, it could mean the end of Jerry Reese, which would mean a new GM with a brand new coach.
There is disaster potential there.