MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 14: Ereck Flowers #76 of the New York Giants looks on during the second half of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on December 14, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

The New York Giants fired head coach Ben McAdoo with four games left in the 2017 NFL season. It was the right move.

As far as x’s and o’s, there’s not enough data to determine if McAdoo has what it takes to be a head coach in the league. Quite frankly, it was too much, too soon for an offensive coordinator with two season of experience. His hiring by the New York Giants was fueled largely in part by wanting to keep him away from getting hired elsewhere.

Rumor had it that the Philadelphia Eagles were interested in McAdoo before they hired Doug Pederson.

For those of us who remain on the fence about his football acumen, we all agree that he mismanaged other aspects of the job. The normally behind-the-scenes stuff showed up constantly in the public domain. His defensive backfield represented a particularly messy situation.

No one wants to get fired. On the other hand, that process can be liberating. In an interview published yesterday in the New York Post, McAdoo gave insight on a couple topics. Notably, his tone seemingly demonstrated a new found assertiveness.

That tenor was evident as the ex-coach talked about the bane of his New York Giants existence: Left tackle Ereck Flowers.

No More Company Line

No one was more supportive of Flowers than Ben McAdoo was. As coaches often do, McAdoo tried to put lipstick on the pig. In large part, McAdoo’s words belied what many of us saw on the field.

He can’t be faulted for any of this.

Some of the assembled media gobbled up words as evidence of Flowers’ improvement. And many fans often took the bait as well. Some going as far as to suggest that letting up three sacks against the Detroit Lions was not his fault.

General managers don’t draft a player at No. 9 overall for him to be “not bad”. Perhaps, some folks will continue to defend Flowers. We chalk that up to the fact that contrarians have always existed. Twitter now gives them a platform.

None of their words, however, are tangible proof of on-field improvement.

In McAdoo’s case, the truth finally prevailed regarding his professional insight about Ereck Flowers.

Per the New York Post:

“[Flowers] can’t bend, you got to be able to bend. You can run around him on that side just like you can on the other side, Eli just gets to see it, which may help Eli. It’s not the blind side, it’s in his vision, so if he’s comfortable with what’s going on over on the left side, it can help him move in the pocket a little bit better.”

In plain English, McAdoo simply echoed a company line about Flowers’ improvement last season.

Warning Salvo to Shurmur

For those who understand that the company line exists – no big deal. We move on. For those who previously bought into the company line, stop belittling the other side. Remember – words are an alibi, not evidence.

Strangely enough, McAdoo’s present words represent a dire warning to New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur. In essence, McAdoo warns Shurmur, “don’t be stupid like I was.”

We shall see if that’s advice that’s well taken by the new regime.