After twelve seasons and two Super Bowl victories as head coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin’s reign has come to an end. This outcome occurred after a very disappointing season in which the Giants not only failed to make the playoffs, but also blew a lead in the final two minutes of the game.

In December, the Giants held a ten-point lead over the Jets after the first half of the game, but eventually ended up losing by three points in the final few minutes, culminating in a very painful experience for all Giants fans. These repeated losses caused the New York Giants to lose their division for the fourth year in a row. In the view of many, a new head coach was imminent.

On January 4, 2016, Tom Coughlin resigned as head coach; exactly ten days later, Ben McAdoo, the former offensive coordinator, replaced him. Tom Coughlin was the oldest head coach in the NFL when he resigned, and many expected him to retire. However, he has since interviewed for multiple head coaching positions, including with the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams had an atrocious season and are desperate for a coaching change.

McAdoo was the top prospect to replace Coughlin after two successful seasons for the offense.

Under McAdoo, quarterback Eli Manning had his best season in 2015, and the Giants’ offense as a whole was ranked in the top 10 of all NFL teams’ offenses. However, some view placing McAdoo as head coach as a hastier move due to the Philadelphia Eagles, who are also in need of a new head coach and have demonstrated interest in picking him up.

Emily Pan‘18 states, “I’m positive that if the Eagles didn’t want McAdoo, then the Giants either would’ve waited a lot longer to make a decision, or they might’ve hired someone else.”

However, in support, Alex Sharma ‘19 explains, “The Giants didn’t want to take the risk; the risk that McAdoo was going to be something amazing. Especially since the Eagles are in the same division, they didn’t have a choice. The Giants couldn’t lose both Coughlin and McAdoo.” Sharma presents the opposing view that the Giants desired McAdoo regardless of the intentions of the Philadelphia Eagles.

There are also many different viewpoints on McAdoo’s success as an offensive coordinator. On paper, he may look great, but when looking at the Giants’ record, many question him. Some say that he has no experience as a head coach; in fact, fans fear that he will make decisions based on ‘trial and error.’ The Giants’ owners, however, feels confident in quarterback Eli Manning, who has shown consistent success throughout his career.

Nevertheless, the fact that the Giants waited over a week to hire McAdoo made sports analysts wonder: did the Giants want to hire him, or did they have to? The results of this massive gamble will not present themselves to the world until Week 1 of the 2016 season.