One could say the Giants' 24-17 loss to the Raiders on Sunday was the last straw for Ben McAdoo. It dropped New York to 2-10 in 2017, its worst 12-game record since the team was 2-10 in 1976 and its worst mark since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978.
But the coach's fate appeared determined before the game in Oakland, as reports indicated McAdoo could be fired as early as Monday.
Sure enough, the Giants not only fired McAdoo on Monday morning, but general manager Jerry Reese was let go, too. The Giants tabbed Steve Spagnuolo and Kevin Abrams as the interim head coach-GM combo.
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"(Giants chairman) Steve (Tisch) and I spoke after yesterday’s game in Oakland and agreed to talk again today," said Gians president John Mara. “This morning, we decided in the best interest of the franchise that we would relieve Jerry and Ben of their duties, effective immediately. This season has been incredibly disappointing for the organization and our fans, and while it would be ideal to make these kinds of decisions at the conclusion of the season, we simply felt now is the time to prepare for a fresh start.
"I have great respect for both Jerry and Ben. Jerry has worked tirelessly for this franchise for 23 years. He has always communicated in a straight forward and honest manner. Ben, as a first time head coach, continued up until this morning to do everything in his power to give us a chance to win. I know the public perception of both these men is not positive, but within these walls, you could not ask for two better professionals.”
Added Tisch: “This has been an extremely difficult and disappointing season. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers or quick fixes. And John and I were confronted with making the tough decisions of today.
"We know how frustrated our fans are. They expect more from us and we expect more from ourselves. Our focus now is on developing and improving our football team so that our fans can enjoy the winning team they expect and deserve.”
McAdoo, who became the 17th head coach in Giants history in 2016, ends his tenure with a 13-15 regular-season record (0-1 in playoffs), not including the two years he served as offensive coordinator under former coach Tom Coughlin. Reese, who was promoted to GM in 2007, started with the franchise as a college scout in the mid-1990s before working his way up in the scouting department.
McAdoo's sloppy benching of veteran quarterback Eli Manning, not Sunday's loss to the Raiders, seemed to be the point of no return for New York — although, watching Manning become the only Giants player in uniform who did not play against Oakland could not have been favorable optics in the wake of such a tumultuous week.
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Even amid a season in which the Giants have fallen from presumed Super Bowl contenders to challengers for the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, McAdoo was blasted, here and elsewhere, for his handling of Manning. (And no, Giants co-owner John Mara doesn't get a pass from SN.)
McAdoo last week said he had no regrets about how things went down with the quarterback, feelings he reiterated Sunday.
"Listen, I understand where the fans are coming from," McAdoo said. "If I was on the outside looking in, I’d feel the same way they feel. You know Eli and I have a tremendous relationship. I think the world of him and it was hard for me emotionally. The beginning of the week, once you make a decision, you have to stick with it and I appreciate the way Eli handled things this week."
Beyond the Manning debacle, there was the poor offensive play in the Giants' season-opening losses to the Cowboys and Lions, signs of things to come in 2017. There was the lack of punishment for Odell Beckham Jr's 'dog pee' celebration, which enraged Mara. There were the fiascos around the team-imposed suspensions of cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins. There were Giants players anonymously ripping their coach. There was the loss to the previously winless 49ers.
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To say the 2017 season has been a disaster for the Giants would be an understatement of epic proportions.
Of course, McAdoo, 40, is far from alone in his fault. Reese's risky free-agency spending spree in 2016 ended up backfiring on him and the team. He and McAdoo paid the price Monday.
After the Giants work through their impending front-office overhaul and find a new GM-coach combo, key roster decisions will be next. The priority, as SN's Jason Fitzgerald writes, should be reaching a long-term deal with Beckham.