Interim GM makes pitch to keep job

Kevin Abrams, the only candidate who has publicly expressed his desire for the Giants’ general manager job, got his chance Friday to convince the team hierarchy the interim role he currently holds should be turned into a permanent position. He is the fourth candidate to interview this week, following Marc Ross, Dave Gettleman and Louis Riddick. Abrams met with coowner John Mara and Ernie Accorsi, the former Giants general manager serving as a consultant in this search. Abrams met with coowner Steve Tisch earlier in the week. A native of Toronto, Abrams, 46, is a familiar face in the building as a front-office employee the past 19 years. He was hired in 1999 by Accorsi as the franchise’s first salary-cap analyst. He is in his 16th year as the assistant general manager and worked the past 11 years under Jerry Reese, who was fired Dec. 4. That day, Mara asked Abrams to take on the GM role on an interim basis, with the promise he would receive an interview for the fulltime job if he so desired. “I think everyone would want this job,” Abrams said last week, saying he believes he is ready for it.

Abrams no doubt sought to impress upon the co-owners he is more than a salary-cap manager and contract negotiator. He is not a scout by nature, but added player-evaluation responsibilities to his job description several years ago.

“My role has been more than just doing the cap stuff,” Abrams said. “I wasn’t raised to be a cap guy. It was just the opportunity that was given to me, and I was grateful of the opportunity, and the Giants do a great job with everyone — not just me. But we’re all encouraged to grow professionally, and like everyone else, I was getting a lot of opportunities to do that, and I try to take advantage of them whenever I could, and a lot of that included being involved with our personnel departments.”

Mara has stressed the need for “wholesale changes” for a franchise that hit rock-bottom this season, taking a 2-12 record into Sunday’s game against the Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz. The Giants entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations. In the past, ownership has made continuity and familiarity a priority, and promoting Abrams would be a seamless transition. He worked closely with Reese, but as Abrams stressed, Reese always had the final say, so no one knows exactly what Abrams would have done differently if he were running the show.