Less than a week after handing their longtime quarterback an unceremonious end to the season, the New York Giants once again employed an early hook.
The Giants fired coach Ben McAdoo on Monday amid a calamitous 2-10 campaign and tumultuous benching of Eli Manning, the coach told NFL Network and ESPN. General manager Jerry Reese was also fired, according to Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spanuolo will take over as interim head coach, per multiple reports.
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McAdoo announced last Tuesday that Manning would not start the team's final five games. The Giants originally offered Manning the chance to extend his starting streak before giving way to Geno Smith and Davis Webb in the second half of games, but the veteran declined.
His streak ended Sunday at 210 games, trailing only Brett Favre's run of 297 in NFL history, as the Giants fell 24-17 to the Oakland Raiders. Manning said after the game that he is "not mad at anybody" and did not want McAdoo to be fired, but he clarified that he intends to play next season.
The in-season firing represents a rare move for the Giants, who had not dismissed a coach before the end of the year since Bill Arnsparger's dismissal in 1976. In a Nov. 13 statement, Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said that they did not plan to make any moves until the conclusion of the year. But asked last Wednesday about McAdoo's job security, Mara said, "There are no guarantees in life."
McAdoo's tenure also was the shortest of any full-time Giants coach since Earl Potteiger in 1927-28. He finished with a 17-15 record.
McAdoo first joined the Giants as an offensive coordinator in 2014. He was promoted to the top position in 2016, taking over following the forced resignation of Tom Coughlin.
The Giants finished 11-5 and earned a wild-card berth in McAdoo's first season, but the offense ranked just 25th in the NFL. Any optimism for improvement from the unit was dashed in early October, when wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall were placed on season-ending injured reserve.
The season further unwound as cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins each were issued suspensions for violations of team rules.