Giants head coach Ben McAdoo says it’s not Eli Manning’s job to “go out and develop another quarterback”
New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said quarterback Eli Manning’s job hasn’t changed in spite of the team selecting California quarterback Davis Webb in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
McAdoo received the John V. Mara Sportsmanship Award at the 81st Annual CYO Club of Champions Tribute Tuesday night. After the awards ceremony, McAdoo told reporters what he expects of Manning.
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“Eli needs to do his job. He needs to focus on getting ready to go out and play at a high level this year and being a good teammate like he always is,” McAdoo said. “I’m sure the young guy is going to have some questions, but it’s not Eli’s job to go out and develop another quarterback. That’s not in his job description. His job is to prepare and perform.”
This situation is new for Manning. The Giants drafted three quarterbacks (Rhett Bomar and Andre Woodson in 2009, Ryan Nassib in 2013) during Manning’s tenure. Although Manning did serve as tutor and mentor to Nassib, there was never any talk of a quarterback potentially replacing Manning until now.
Quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Geno Smith are currently on the roster. No one expects either of them to take over the Giants once Manning’s playing days are over.
McAdoo knows firsthand how awkward and distracting a quarterback controversy can be. He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers. McAdoo saw controversy created when the Packers were ready to move on from Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre and hand the keys to the kingdom to Aaron Rodgers.
The similarities between the two situations cannot be ignored. Rodgers and Webb even went to the same school. McAdoo is hoping that having Johnson, Smith, and Webb around fuels competition that will only make Manning better, especially since the Giants are in a win-now philosophy.
“I think there’s a lot of competition going on in the quarterback room right now,” McAdoo said. “Eli is going to get pushed from Josh and Geno and we have a young guy (Webb) coming in who’s going to push for the number two spot, but he’s a long way to go. There’s a lot of competition.
“Any time that you add players in the room with the skill-sets that they have, you want to go out and perform well. I think Eli is going to prepare to go out and play at a high level like he always does.”
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