What trait could make Ben McAdoo a success with the Panthers?
By Brian Emory
Could a fine record for quarterback evaluation hold the key to Ben McAdoo and any potential success he gets with the Carolina Panthers?
When NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday afternoon that Ben McAdoo would be the new offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, fans were hardly taking to the streets of Charlotte in celebration.
It’s not as if reasonable fans expected a flashy hire, but the news served as a sobering reminder that head coach Matt Rhule has failed to foster a climate that makes openings desirable for the game’s most promising coaches. A hire of McAdoo’s pedigree was always expected, but that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t disappointing.
McAdoo brings legitimate NFL experience to the Panthers. Something that was sorely lacking on Rhule’s original staff.
Fans will most likely remember McAdoo because of the time he spent with the New York Giants. After bolstering his resume serving as the quarterbacks coach of the Green Bay Packers from 2012-13, former head coach Tom Coughlin tabbed his protege to be his new offensive coordinator.
After spending two seasons at that post, McAdoo was promoted to be the team’s new head coach upon Coughlin’s resignation at the conclusion of the 2015 season. This produced a mixed bag of results.
In both 2014 and 2015 the Giants were top-10 in the NFL in yards per game, but the offensive success didn’t translate to wins as the team finished 6-10 both seasons. It may be easy to forget now, but McAdoo’s career as a head coach got off to a very promising start with an 11-5 record during his first season at the helm.
Ultimately, the honeymoon period didn’t last very long for McAdoo. Following a successful 2016 season, McAdoo was fired after the team got off to a dreadful 2-10 start in 2017. Today fans and analysts alike look back on McAdoo’s tenure with the Giants as a failure.
It’s easy to scoff at McAdoo as a formerly failed head coach who’s coaching pinnacle is behind him. This may be true, but he does have an arcane qualification on his resume that may raise a few eyebrows in Carolina.