Ben McAdoo Speaks With Peter King For FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA Debut Column

Peter King's new Monday morning NFL column "Football Morning in America" debuted today exclusively on NBCSports.com, and included an interview with former New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, who detailed what he learned during his time with the organization.

The following are highlights from King's interview with McAdoo:

• On managing his relationships with players: "I learned I need to handle players, and work with players, better. Take Odell Beckham Jr. I needed to be better for him personally, as a coordinator and head coach. I was too busy trying to scheme ways to get him the ball, especially early in my time in New York, that I didn't step back and see the big picture the way I should have."
• On what he learned about handling success: "I learned the hard way how not to handle success. I failed to convince the players and coaching staff that nothing carries over in the NFL after we won 11 games in 2016. The most important message after finishing any season is to hit the reset button. You have to have the willingness to put your body and mind through everything that it takes to play team-oriented winning football year after year. High expectations mean nothing. When you start listening to the prognosticators, it's poison. We had too much of that around our team in 2017. That will not happen to a team I coach again."
• On making tough decisions: "Finally, I learned there's no easy way to make the truly tough decisions. Right or wrong, I am at peace with how I handled the decision to play quarterbacks other than Eli Manning down the stretch of last season. At the time, we were 2-9, beat up, and I told Eli we wanted to see the other quarterbacks on the roster-including our promising rookie, Davis Webb. I was not ending Eli's career with the Giants; I was making sure we knew what we had behind him with a high draft choice prior to a big quarterback draft. I gave him the option to start the games to keep his streak alive. I understand why he said no, and he was a true pro about it. My bedside manner hurt me that week. I'm working on that. I do think it was special how his former teammates and the fans rallied around him that week. But if there's one thing I want fans of the Giants to know, it's that I made this call to try to make the Giants stronger for the future. It probably got me fired, but I believe I did the right thing for the right reasons."

Read the rest of the column here.

A new "Football Morning in America" will post every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com. It was announced in May that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on NBCSN's and NBC Sports Radio's PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

Beginning July 21, King will resume his popular NFL training camp tour, filing his column from the road each Monday, and providing video or written reports from team to team throughout the preseason. His first stop will be to Chicago Bears camp in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

Click here for more information.

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