Nobody wanted McAdoo gone. Everyone was very excited about the hiring, he said all the right things, etc.
Had a great first year and even though he didn't handle Beckham and the other high maintenance guys right, even Parcells had issues his first year. He either got really lucky with the injuries and game decisions, or the personnel responded better to him last year.
He gambled just as much last year. Sometimes teams have those seasons where they should contend but everything goes wrong whether because of injuries (84-85 Rangers), dysfunction (92-93 Rangers) or some combo of both (see the Mets this year).
What's hurt him is he's lost the room and the respect of the players, and the guys who were supposed to get better didn't.