New York Giants owner John Mara is throwing the coach he just fired firmly under the bus.
The Giants announced the firing of coach Bob McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese on Monday, and there was rampant speculation that the hysteria surrounding the benching of Eli Manning had something to do with it. Others, however, wondered if McAdoo and Reese were fall guys to cover for ownership, who some believe gave the order — or at least the approval — to bench the franchise quarterback.
On Monday, Mara claimed that decision was all on McAdoo.
John Mara says that Ben McAdoo is the one who initially came up with the plan on Eli Manning.
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) December 4, 2017
Mara did, however, admit that he could have overruled the coach and did not.
#Giants owner John Mara, on the Eli Manning situation: “If you want to blame anyone on that, blame me. I could’ve overruled it.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2017
Perhaps there’s some blame deflecting going on here after the firestorm that surrounded the decision. As owner, Mara certainly could have intervened, but did not. His quickness to note that it was McAdoo’s idea, though, suggests that he only wants the accountability against him to go so far.
