As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets, Giants quarterback Eli Manning said today that he wants to retire as a Giant, and it sounds as if the team has interest in extending the relationship as well. Giants owner John Mara believes Manning is still in his prime and “has a lot of good years left,” as he told Newsday’s Tom Rock last week. Even though Mara made his comments before Manning’s disastrous five-interception showing on Sunday, that one game is unlikely to significant alter the franchise’s perception of Eli as its quarterback of the future.
Here’s more on the NFL’s two New York teams:
- Speaking of Manning, he was asked today about his former teammate Tiki Barber, who suggested earlier this week that the Giants should fire head coach Tom Coughlin. “It’s good to hear from old Tiki,” Manning quipped, according to Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record (Twitter links). Asked how it feels to hear a former player call for a coach to be fired, Manning replied, “I think it depends on your opinion of that player,” hinting that the Giants locker room probably isn’t taking Barber too seriously.
- Much has been made of the potential departures of head coach Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik if the Jets’ season continues to head south, but Seth Walden of the New York Daily News points out that those aren’t the only notable names who could leave the team in the offseason. Walder identifies Percy Harvin, Geno Smith, Michael Vick, and coordinators Dennis Thurman and Marty Mornhinweg as others whose futures in New York are uncertain.
- While the firing of Ryan at season’s end has seemed inevitable over the last few weeks, Brian Costello of the New York Post outlines a scenario in which it makes sense for the Jets to keep their head coach for at least one more year.