Former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo spoke for the first time since being fired in early December. The coaching failure had a positive assessment of his former team while trashing the rest of the NFC East.
"I think they're gonna win the division," McAdoo told the New York Post of the Giants. "I think Philly, how much success has Philly had? I think they're gonna have a hard time handling success. Dallas, I like their offensive line, but how long have we been saying that? Their defense, they got a bunch of young guys playing DB, Sean Lee is banged up a lot, and their D-line, they got a bunch of guys getting in trouble all the time. And Washington is Washington, right?"
This will surely play well in Philly, where McAdoo previously interviewed for a head coaching job before being promoted in New York.
McAdoo added that he liked Big Blue's moves this offseason.
"I think they've made a lot of the moves I wanted to make," McAdoo said Thursday morning.
McAdoo's comments suggest he believes the blame for the struggles during his tenure could be pinned on ex-general manager Jerry Reese, who built the former roster.
"They made the moves to get better in the offensive line, they let the right guys leave, they had to do that with Weston [Richburg] and [Justin] Pugh -- I think that was smart,'' McAdoo said. "Getting the guard [Will Hernandez] in there, I don't know him, but if he's half as good as they say, he can fight. That will help them, having that tough guy inside, because the depth of the pocket is very important with Eli. He can't have pressure up the middle and be successful. I'd be worried about center. I think Brett Jones is probably going to be the center. I have a hard time seeing the other guy [Jon Halapio] doing it."
McAdoo didn't believe Nate Solder was worth the big money paid, but signing a bona fide left tackle was a good move for the Giants.
"Getting a left tackle in there will help them in a lot of ways," McAdoo said of Solder. "I don't think he's a very good player, but I think it will help them in a lot of ways where they needed help in that room in the past and they haven't had anyone to do that.
"It was good they could get rid of defensive end [Jason Pierre-Paul's] salary. I guess you kind of just flipped JPP for Solder, and I think that's a good move, really."
McAdoo lasted less than two seasons as the Giants head coach with a 13-15 record, including 2-10 in 2017. Even a playoff berth in his first season could not give McAdoo reprieve from the axe. His offense was as predictable as a sunrise -- scoring just 17.8 points per game and ranking 30th in the NFL in total yards per tilt (314.7) -- and his coaching decisions left Giants fans with massive bald spots.
The ex-coach didn't land an assistant gig in 2018 as the Giants continue to pay out the balance of his contract.
