FOOLS RUSH IN
Giants looking to make right GM choice
THERE is no favorite. There are only assumptions. The Giants have not talked to anyone about their vacancy at general manager, other than Ernie Accorsi, the man who held that title for nine years and has been commissioned to help find the replacement for Jerry Reese, fired in the Dec. 4 Monday Massacre that also removed Ben McAdoo from the building. The Giants are in no rush to fill the most important position in the organization, as they want to be thorough and they want to get it right.
Eventually, they might dip into their past and hire Dave Gettleman, but just because there are so many arrows pointing in that direction, it does not mean that is where the Giants are headed.
The Giants have not conducted any interviews and cannot speak with any potential candidate currently employed in the NFL until after the season. So, they will not have a new GM in place for at least a few more weeks. They must satisfy the Rooney Rule and interview at least one minority candidate, meaning they cannot simply hire Gettleman now. Gettleman was fired by the Panthers in July and thus is available, not tied to any other team.
Giants ownership did not hire Accorsi as a consultant just so Accorsi could rubber-stamp Gettleman, without any sort of real search process. This may eventually lead back to Gettleman, but before it does, John Mara and Steve Tisch do want to hear from other potential suitors for such an important job.
Make no mistake, this is a huge opening in the NFL and it will attract the best and brightest. What football executive would not want to come to the New York area and work for a storied franchise with stable, rational ownership? Plus, the new general manager will not be encumbered in his two most important decisions: His head coach and quarterback. He can pick his coach and essentially pick his quarterback: Eli Manning, Davis Webb or whoever is sitting there with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
If it is Gettleman, the sense is Kevin Abrams, the assistant general manager, would stay on in his current role and could be viewed as next in line, given Gettleman’s age (66). The sense is less clear with Marc Ross, the vice president of player evaluation, who runs the draft and is closely tied to Reese as far as the makeup of the roster.
The Giants have strong regard for Ron Wolf, the former Packers general manager, and thus would have interest in his son, Eliot, who is being groomed to replace Ted Thompson in Green Bay. Accorsi wanted Eliot Wolf for the Lions’ job last year, but the Packers denied the interview. There is Eric DeCosta (Ravens) and Will McClay (Cowboys). Lake Dawson, a former NFL receiver with nine years in the Titans front office, is in his first year as the Bills’ assistant director of college scouting. Accorsi in 2013 interviewed Dawson for the Panthers’ GM opening. Accorsi also recommended Trent Kirschner (Seahawks) for an interview for the Lions’ job.
As for the Nick Caserio-Josh McDaniel’s daily double, there are those in NFL circles who do not see raiding the Patriots for the next general manager and head coach as a Giants-type thing to do.
“He’s Bill Belichick’s puppet,’’ an NFL source said of Caserio.
Could this all lead back to Gettleman? Of course it could. He spent 15 years in personnel with the Giants and they consider him one of their own. Accorsi has called him “a close, close friend’’ and it was Accorsi’s passionate recommendation in 2013 that got Gettleman the general manager job with the Panthers.
When Accorsi was set to retire in 2006, he pushed for Reese to replace him more so than he pushed for Gettleman.
“When Jerry got it, I could tell Dave was down,’’ Accorsi said in a 2016 interview. “He knew the chronology of his age. I said to him, ‘Look, I have no idea if I’m ever going to be able to deliver on this but if I possibly can take care of you, I will.’ ’’
Accorsi made good on his word by steering Gettleman to Carolina. Now Accorsi might be able to double-up and nudge Gettleman back to the Giants. The final call will be made by Mara and Tisch. They have not spoken to anyone yet, but soon enough, the next architect of the Giants will be in the fold.