What do the Carolina Panthers see in OC candidate Ben McAdoo?

What do the Carolina Panthers see in Ben McAdoo after he was recently interviewed for their vacant offensive coordinator position?

The search for Joe Brady’s replacement as offensive coordinator is ongoing and remains of critical importance for the Carolina Panthers. Head coach Matt Rhule is already under a significant amount of pressure after a second-straight season with five wins, so it’s absolutely essential that the right appointment is made to somehow get this team trending in the right direction.

There has been a lot of talk surrounding Jay Glazer’s report that Rhule needs to provide team owner David Tepper with a “rockstar” offensive coordinator to cement his status. Something the former Temple and Baylor man denied during his exit presser following Carolina’s loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18.

The list of candidates so far would be classed as somewhat underwhelming, at least for fans.

But one has to wonder just how attractive the Panthers actually are to any coaches given the current state of affairs.

Carolina Panthers plan to interview Ben McAdoo for vacant OC job

Another name to emerge this week was Ben McAdoo, a former head coach of the New York Giants who spent the 2021 season working as a consultant with the Dallas Cowboys. He also happens to be a close associate of Tom Coughlin, who has had a significant impact on Rhule’s coaching life.

In that sense, the move comes as no surprise.

Even if it didn’t exactly go down too well with large sections of the team’s fanbase on social media.

McAdoo’s time as head coach at MetLife Stadium was nothing short of a disaster in his second and final season. It looked as if he was the right man for the job after an 11-5 record to begin his tenure, but 3-13 swiftly followed in 2017 and a constant battle with quarterback Eli Manning was enough to remove him from the equation.

Prior to getting the top gig, McAdoo worked as offensive coordinator under Coughlin with some success. So that’s probably why Carolina is looking at potentially bringing him on board in a last-ditch attempt to salvage Sam Darnold’s career.

The upcoming interviewee held the position of quarterbacks coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 during Gardner Minshew’s mini-breakout, so McAdoo does have some experience turning around signal-callers even if it didn’t amount to anything other than the No. 1 overall selection and a chance for the team to take Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson.

There should be a few more possibilities that enter the mix between now and when a final decision is made. But time is of the essence and the Panthers cannot afford to make the wrong appointment.

It’s a fine balance. McAdoo might not be everybody’s first choice, but the only opinion that matters right now regarding such a decision is Rhule’s unless Tepper uses his influence to make things difficult one way or another.

McAdoo has some encouraging credentials but didn’t walk straight back into a coordinator position anywhere following his time with the Giants. However, if there’s one thing Rhule covets heavily in his staff, it’s loyalty and experience of working with them previously.

Whether Panthers fans like it or not, that puts McAdoo in play. But it remains to be seen whether he can do enough to secure the job in 2022.