Ben McAdoo’s final big decision as the Giants head coach came when he benched Eli Manning for a Week 13 game against the Raiders.
The Giants were 2-9 and McAdoo’s call snapped a 210-game start streak for Manning, which made it an unpopular decision for many of the team’s fans. The identity of the new starter didn’t do much to help McAdoo’s cause. Geno Smith was Manning’s backup and his time with the Jets had not endeared him to the area, so no one showed much surprise when McAdoo was fired shortly after a 24-17 loss in Oakland.
It’s now 2022 and McAdoo is the offensive coordinator for a Panthers team that will be taking on the Seahawks this Sunday. That Seahawks team is being quarterbacked by Smith and Pete Carroll’s at no risk of being fired for going with him. The Seahawks are 7-5 thanks in large part to how well Smith has played this season and McAdoo said he continues to be a “big fan” of the quarterback.
“As long as they have inside of them [that] they can persevere, they have some toughness, and they have confidence in themselves when they’re going through tough times, they always have the talent to come out of it on the back end,” McAdoo said, via Augusta Stone of the team’s website. “You’re seeing that with Geno, and that’s just a part of playing the game. These guys go through a lot as they come up through the ranks, and they get a chance to play in this league. Sometimes they just need to get in the right situation, and certainly, that’s where Geno is right now.”
McAdoo won’t be charged with trying to slow Smith down on Sunday. His focus will be on trying to get another former Jets quarterback going as Sam Darnold makes his second straight start for the Panthers.
