Source: Ben McAdoo close to deal to become Giants' coach

— -- Ben McAdoo, one of the internal favorites to replace Tom Coughlin, is closing in on a deal to become the 17th head coach in New York Giants history, multiple sources confirmed Wednesday night to ESPN.

An announcement could come as early as Thursday.

McAdoo, 38, has been the Giants' offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, his only two seasons ever as a coordinator. He never has been a head coach.

McAdoo has earned praise for his work with quarterback Eli Manning, who has thrown 65 touchdowns and 28 interceptions and completed 62.8 percent of his passes the past two seasons.

McAdoo also interviewed last week with the Philadelphia Eagles for their head-coaching job, and their interest might have helped him strike a deal with the Giants, who think very highly of him and probably didn't want to risk losing a potential future coaching star to a division rival.

The Giants have been seeking a replacement for Coughlin, who resigned last week after coaching them to two Super Bowl championships in his 12 seasons in New York.

Assuming the deal is finalized, McAdoo will have beaten out a field that included former NFL head coaches Mike Smith and Doug Marrone, as well as current Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

In addition to those men, the Giants also interviewed Adam Gase, who was hired to coach the Miami Dolphins, and they expressed interest in Hue Jackson, who was hired Wednesday to coach the Cleveland Browns after declining to fly to New Jersey to interview with the Giants for their job.

Spagnuolo has a chance to stay on as defensive coordinator, according to sources, and former Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin is among the favorites to join McAdoo's staff as offensive coordinator. McAdoo and Philbin worked together in Green Bay under Mike McCarthy.

The Giants had the NFL's eighth-best offense in terms of total yards and ranked sixth in the league in total points this past season under McAdoo.