Green Day songs thundered around the practice field as Ben McAdoo began stamping his footprints all over the New York Football Giants. He wore a blue three-quarter-sleeve top with GIANTS in white on the back and blue athletic-wear pants, a departure from Tom Coughlin’s khaki shorts, and shades, and his demeanor was more General Ben than Gentle Ben.
He marched from one OTA drill to the next, occasionally jogging, often glancing at his white play sheet. Gifted with an authoritative voice, a football coach doing what he loves, for the first time with a team to call his own, opting to honor the franchise’s rich tradition by implementing drill periods bearing the names of Giants greats such The Duke (Wellington Mara) for protecting the ball/taking care of the ball, LT for tackling and Chris Snee for blocking.
“Putting names to the periods, putting a face with the period and with ball security and with tackling and with blocking, I think hits home with the players,” McAdoo said.
This is a coach who demands excellence, same as the old coach. This is a no-nonsense coach who has an affinity for finding out who is comfortable being uncomfortable. He looked and felt comfortable.
“Just out here attacking the job,” McAdoo said.
When the Giants’ second-round draft pick, receiver Sterling Shepard, missed an assignment, McAdoo walked over to him and sternly set him straight.
“He pulled me over a bunch of times. I think that’s what he was reiterating to me, just trying to get the signal down,” the rookie said.
Life After Tom Coughlin for Eli Manning.
“He was fired up,” Manning said.
In the meeting room, there was a discernible difference between McAdoo and Coughlin.
“I would say Coach McAdoo is a bit more fast pace,” Andre Williams said. “He is very interactive. His PowerPoint game is super strong. His PowerPoints are very entertaining. He’s funny, he’s always got some cool clips and videos to keep us interested.”
The Monday clips?
“Today he showed a clip from ‘Life’ where the big dude was trying to take somebody else’s cornbread,” Williams said. “And he showed a clip of Muhammad Ali knocking somebody out. … Stick and Move, that’s his new phrase, so …”
What does Stick and Move mean football-wise?
“Get what you gotta get and keep it moving. … You gotta understand what’s going on and run with it,” Williams said.
Weston Richburg wanted to emphasize that it was an honor playing his first two seasons for Coughlin, a coach he considers a legend, before adding: “I think Coach McAdoo brings some energy. I think the league has gotten younger player-wise, and I think he brings energy where younger guys can kinda grab hold onto that a little better, I think. And he’s a really personable guy. He’s able to relate with us pretty well. The energy and excitement is pretty big right now.”
McAdoo keeps his players on their toes in the meeting room.
“He makes sure everybody knows their answers, and he’s gonna check you and call on you if you’re slumping in your seat or something,” said cornerback Eli Apple, the Giants’ first-round draft pick. “He’s not just gonna talk you to death, it’s gonna be an interactive-type of meeting. He’s a good guy, and he’s somebody that you can tell is gonna be a great coach in the future.”
It is different for Manning in this regard: “He’s not in every [offensive] meeting that we’re having. Coach [Mike] Sullivan’s kinda handling more of the offensive meeting than what it was last year.”
The playlist selection on the field included Antho and “Pretty Young Thing” by Michael Jackson. Richburg was asked how it differed from a year ago.
“They play it longer. Things get kind of a lull, the music will kinda get guys going and keep the energy high, which is good,” Richburg said.
For the media, asking McAdoo personnel questions he views as a threat to national security are a wasted exercise:
“How do you envision Will Johnson. Is he a fullback, tight end. … Both?”
“Sure.”
“Are Nikita Whitlock’s pass-rushing days behind him?”
“Again, I’m not gonna answer questions that are related to personnel and scheme right now. That doesn’t help anybody here,” McAdoo said.
But just because it was deemed time for a change doesn’t mean the clocks have to change. Coughlin Time meant five minutes early.
Now it’s McAdoo’s Time.