Giants Co-Owner On GM Dave Gettleman's Status: Progress Must Be Made
Dave Gettleman has long been the fall guy for a New York Giants team without recent luck on offensive line, pass rush, secondary, quarterback — or the general win column.
The GM has seen gone through distrust with the fan base over selecting Daniel Jones at No. 6, and criticism from analysts in free agency after losing All-Pro safety Landon Collins and divorcing from star receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. — preceded by a public negotiation for Odell's record-breaking contract.
Though fans believe Gettleman is planted to the hot seat and on the cusp of getting booted out of MetLife since that Odell trade, owner John Mara spoke out with a message contrary to that idea, claiming a shared responsibility for the sub-par seasons in New York must be addressed.
Mara spoke to the media on Tuesday, via Ralph Vacchiano: “I’ll look at that at the end of the season and see whether I think we’re continuing to make progress and moving in the right direction, but I’m not issuing a playoff mandate. I don’t think those ever do any good. I don’t think I need to say or do anything to motivate the people in this building any more than they’re already motivated. They all want to win.”
That shared responsibility within the Giants organization was also called on to figure out a way to win more games. Period.
The team is currently equipped with a roster of several top-15, first-round picks from recent years, marquee free agency contracts and new head coaching regime under Joe Judge — the Giants' third in the past five years.
“I gave the same answer last year, I think, but when I walk off the field after the last game, whenever that is, I want to feel like ‘Does this group give us a chance to win the Super Bowl?'" added Mara. "'Are we moving in that direction?’ If the answer to that is yes, then we’re not going to consider making big changes. If I feel like we’re going backwards, that’s another discussion.”
Patience is running thin in East Rutherford, and with a multivariate dilemma keeping New York in the bottom tier of NFL teams, the ousting of Gettleman is a top ten, rather than top five, priority on New York's to-do list.
Letting Odell walk led to improvements on the offensive line, with the addition of Kevin Zeitler, while Landon Collins' struggles in Washington seemingly justified the lack of extension in New York. With the addition of Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, James Bradberry and Blake Martinez, Gettleman has remained vigilant over the team's needs and continues to make the tough choices in the Big Apple.
Should the season start out slow, the usual suspects from the anti-Gettleman brigade will zero in on the GM, without first addressing Joe Judge's sub-par, albeit lucky, six wins from 2020 and Daniel Jones' ball security. Or lack of.
Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela