New York Giants Fire Mike Pope and Jerald Ingram

Mike Pope – © USA TODAY Sports Images

New York Giants Fire Mike Pope and Jerald Ingram: The New York Giants announced on Wednesday that they have fired Tight Ends Coach Mike Pope and Running Backs Coach Jerald Ingram. These moves come a day after the Giants announced that they have hired Ben McAdoo as their new offensive coordinator.

The 71-year old Pope served as the tight ends coach on the Giants for 22 seasons. His first stint came was in 1984-1991 under Bill Parcells and Ray Handley. His second stint was in 2000-2013 under Jim Fassel and Tom Coughlin. He also spent one season (1983) as an assistant special teams coach and defensive backs coach. In all, Pope spent 23 seasons with the Giants – longer than any assistant coach in team history. He was on the coaching staff of every Giants team to play in the Super Bowl.

The 53-year old Ingram served as the Giants’ running backs coach under Tom Coughlin for the last 10 seasons (2004-2013). Ingram also worked with Coughlin at Boston College and on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“Both of these men are very good talent evaluators and, in their own way, are very good teachers,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin in the team’s press release. “I decided to make a change in our staff that I believe will be productive going forward. These are very difficult decisions, but I felt they were in the best interests of the Giants moving forward.”

“Mike (Pope) and I coached together on the Giants staff back in the 1980s,” Coughlin said. “When I returned as the head coach, I didn’t intend to keep anyone from the previous staff. I visited with Mike and made a decision that I wanted him as a part of our new staff going forward, and it was certainly the right decision. He has coached many, many outstanding players in the years that we’ve been here, guys that have made great contributions to our success. Mike has four Super Bowl rings from all four championships the New York Giants have won in the modern era.”

“(Jerald Ingram is) an outstanding football coach,” Coughlin said. “He has done a very good job here. I think the record speaks for itself in terms of the guys that have played for him and are very loyal to him. He’s a man of principle and has been a very loyal assistant for a lot of years. Jerald demonstrated again last season what a good teacher he is when we had injures at the running back position and we signed Peyton Hillis. In one week’s time, Peyton started in the third-down nickel package, which, in our system, is a complex job.”

For a complete listing of the New York Giants coaching staff, see the Coaching Staff section of the website.

Articles on Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo:

• How Ben McAdoo’s hiring affects Giants QB Eli Manning by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com
• With McAdoo, Giants try something new by Dan Graziano of ESPN.com