Giants Fire GM Jerry Reese
The Giants are now in search of both a new head coach and a general manager. The Giants have fired GM Jerry Reese, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Giants Fire Ben McAdoo]
There is precedent for head coaches and GMs to be fired on the same day, but not necessarily during the season. In one fell swoop, the Giants have canned coach Ben McAdoo as well as the man who constructed his roster.
“This season has been incredibly disappointing for the organization and our fans, and while it would be ideal to make these kinds of decisions at the conclusion of the season, we simply felt now is the time to prepare for a fresh start,” owner John Mara said in a statement released by the team. “I have great respect for both Jerry and Ben. Jerry has worked tirelessly for this franchise for 23 years. He has always communicated in a straight forward and honest manner.”
Although the Giants have enjoyed great success during Reese’s tenure – including two Super Bowl championships – he has made some perceived blunders in recent years. His timidity in moving up on draft day has left the Giants with some serious busts in the top rounds. This past offseason, he failed to strengthen the Giants’ offensive line even though it was one of the team’s most glaring needs.
Reese has been with the Giants organization since 1994, meaning that he’ll have to find a job elsewhere for the first time in 23 years. Ten years after coming on board as a scout, Reese became the team’s Director of Pro Personnel in 2004. Then, in 2007, he was promoted to GM.
Giants’ assistant general manager Kevin Abrams will take over as GM for the rest of the season, a person with knowledge of team’s moves tells Kinkhabwala (Twitter link). Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been appointed as the team’s new interim head coach.
Giants Fire Ben McAdoo
Giants coach Ben McAdoo has been fired (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). His dismissal comes in the midst of a disappointing season, but also less than one year after leading his team to the playoffs. 
[RELATED: Giants Fire GM Jerry Reese]
The Giants will install defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as the team’s interim head coach. Meanwhile, Giants’ assistant general manager Kevin Abrams will serve as the GM for the rest of the season, a person with knowledge of team’s moves tells Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (Twitter link).
“Steve and I spoke after yesterday’s game in Oakland and agreed to talk again today,” said owner John Mara in a statement released by the team. “Ben, as a first time head coach, continued up until this morning to do everything in his power to give us a chance to win. I know the public perception of both these men is not positive, but within these walls, you could not ask for two better professionals.”
This marks Spagnuolo’s second stint as an NFL head coach. After making a name for himself as the Giants’ DC years ago, he went on to become the head coach of the Rams. Things didn’t go as planned in St. Louis, unfortunately, as his teams went a combined 10-38 in three seasons. While he remains highly respected in coaching circles, it’s fair to wonder if he is the right guy for the Giants’ top job given their defensive struggles this year.
Heading into the season, the Giants believed that they had the talent necessary to contend in the NFC East. Instead, a slew of injuries early in the year – including several in the wide receiver group – hurt them early in the year. The offense slumped without Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, but the front office apparently feels that a lack of leadership was also to blame.
Last week, McAdoo was slammed by fans when Geno Smith was installed as the starter for Sunday’s game over Eli Manning. The decision to give Smith a shot over the franchise hero was not exclusively McAdoo’s, but it seems that he is being made to be the fall guy. Smith had his moments against Oakland, but ownership has decided to clean house after watching the Giants fall to 2-10 on the year.
McAdoo first made a name for himself nationally as Aaron Rodgers‘ position coach in Green Bay. In 2014, he joined Tom Coughlin‘s staff as the offensive coordinator for the Giants. Two years later, the Giants pushed Coughlin out and installed McAdoo as the head coach. At the time, the Giants felt that they were choosing the coach best suited to guide Manning. That wasn’t the case in hindsight, but other teams had serious interest in hiring McAdoo, including the rival Eagles.
NFL Suspends Ravens’ Jimmy Smith
On Sunday, Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith suffered a season-ending injury. Now, Smith has been hit with a suspension for performance enhancing drugs (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). 
The good news – if there is good news in this situation – is that Smith can serve the suspension while injured. He has withdrawn his appeal of the four-game ban, so he will be able to take the field when he is healthy for Week 1 next year.
Smith, 30 this summer, tore his Achilles on a non-contact play on Sunday against the Lions. Unfortunately, the injury and the suspension will put a damper on what has been a career year for the veteran. So far this year, Pro Football Focus has Smith ranked as one of the 12 best corners in the entire NFL with a career-high overall score. We have yet to hear an explanation from Smith on his positive test, but critics will undoubtedly connect the dots between his alleged PED use and his improved play.
The playoffs are still within reach for the 7-5 Ravens, but they’ll have to find a way to get by without one of their top defenders the rest of the way.
Packers Place Ty Montgomery On IR
Ty Montgomery‘s season is over. The running back has been placed on injured reserve due to rib and wrist injuries. To take his place on the roster, wide receiver Michael Clark has been promoted from the practice squad. 
Montgomery missed time due to a rib ailment earlier this year. This time around, he needs more time to recover.
Montgomery’s season ends after just eight games played. He had 71 carries on the year for 273 yards (good for an average of 3.8 yards per carry) with three rushing touchdowns. The converted wide receiver also added 23 catches for 173 yards and one receiving TD. It wasn’t quite as impressive as Montgomery’s 2016 season in which he averaged 5.9 yards per rushing attempt with 44 catches for 348 receiving yards.
With Montgomery and fellow running back Aaron Jones sidelined, the Packers will be leaning on rookies Jamaal Williams and Devante Mays. It would also make sense for the Packers to look into acquiring another tailback.
The Packers are 5-6 after dropping their last two games. They’re not out of the playoff chase yet, but they’ll need to beat the Bucs on Sunday to keep hope alive.
Practice Squad Updates: 12/1/17
Today’s practice squad moves:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OLB Thurston Armbrister
- Cut: C Leo Koloamatangi
Miami Dolphins
- Signed:WR Rashawn Scott
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Tre McBride
- Placed on PS IR: DL Claude Pelon
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: C Jon Toth
- Placed on PS IR: S Harold Jones-Quartey
Cardinals, Corey Peters Agree To Extension
The Cardinals have agreed to sign nose tackle Corey Peters to a three-year extension, according to a team announcement. The deal is worth an average of $4MM per year, Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM (on Twitter) hears. Of course, the devil is in the details and we’ll know more about the deal once the cash flow and guarantees are known. 
Peters has struggled with injuries in his time in Arizona, but he’s been quite valuable when on the field. The veteran missed the entire 2015 season after signing a three-year, $9MM deal with the Cards in the previous offseason. He appeared in all but one of Arizona’s games last year, but this season a high ankle sprain has held him out of the last two games.
Peters, 30 in June, had the second-most snaps among Cardinals defensive lineman this season at the time of his injury in November. To date, he has a career high 80. 1 overall score on Pro Football Focus. He currently ranks 47th out of 119 qualified interior defenders.
In his two years with the Cardinals, Peters has recorded 38 tackles, a safety, and a sack.
Jimbo Fisher Leaves FSU For Texas A&M
Jimbo Fisher has long been viewed as a potential NFL head coaching candidate. However, he won’t be in the mix for a pro job anytime soon. Fisher has left Florida State to accept the head coaching job at Texas A&M. It’s a ten-year deal that could be worth upwards of $80MM, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News (on Twitter) hears. 
Even when he was firmly entrenched with the Seminoles, Fisher always left the door open for a possible ascension to the NFL.
“I love college and I had opportunities to go to pro football as an assistant coach and as a coordinator and I’ve had inquiries as a head coach,” said Fisher in May of 2016. “It’s got to be the right organization at the right time and the right situation if you’re ever interested. We have a great situation where I’m at. It’s not something that drives me.”
College coaching contracts often come with escape hatches, but a deal of this magnitude probably calls for a hefty buyout if Fisher bails early. At the very least, we know that Fisher will not be a candidate for NFL coaching vacancies this offseason.
In his eight years at FSU, Fisher amassed an 83-23 record, including a 48-17 record in ACC games.
NFC East Notes: Giants, Manning, Cowboys
In theory, Eli Manning could be back in New York next year. But former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride doesn’t see that happening.
“It is hard for me looking in from the outside seeing that happen just knowing the guy,” Gilbride told PFT. “I know he comes across and people look at him like he’s an ‘aww, shucks’ country boy, Huckleberry Finn-kind of guy, but I can assure you that beneath that facade lies the personality of a warrior. He’s going to compete and fight and do everything he can to play at the very highest level and represent himself at the very best and so that’s an investment of tremendous personal sacrifice and time and all that goes into being ready to play the game at the NFL level. So to do that, you’re a prideful guy — and he is — and so his pride has been attacked. I’m sure anything can be repaired but, boy, it would be very very difficult. . . . I don’t see it happening.”
Where could Manning go next? Gilbride, like many, is envisioning a reunion between Manning and Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville.
Here’s more out of the NFC East:
- Manning might not be the only star leaving the NFC East this offseason. Longtime Dallas beat writer Charean Williams of PFT believes that the Cowboys will have a hard time justifying Dez Bryant‘s salary in 2018. She rightly notes that Bryant hasn’t played up to his contract, which calls for a $12.5MM salary next year with a $16.5MM cap number. The Cowboys may ask Bryant to take a pay cut, but Bryant – who is regarded as one of the league’s most talented wide receivers – may not be on board with that. So far this year, Bryant has 58 catches for 639 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games, putting him on pace for roughly 72 catches, 799 yards, and six TDs. Those numbers aren’t quite on a par with his best work from 2012-2014.
- The Giants have a plan for increasing rookie quarterback Davis Webb‘s reps and getting into a game, coach Ben McAdoo tells reporters (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan). However, McAdoo declined to share the details of how and when he intends to get Webb involved. What we do know is that Webb will not be the QB1 or QB2 this weekend when the Giants face the Raiders in Oakland this weekend.
- The Redskins should consider using the non-exclusive franchise tag on Kirk Cousins, one beat writer opines.
- There’s still no timetable for Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones to take the field.
- The Cowboys could be without cornerback Orlando Scandrick for a bit.
Panthers Activate WR Damiere Byrd
The Panthers have activated wide receiver Damiere Byrd off of injured reserve. Byrd has been out of action since Week 4 when he broke his arm against the Patriots. 
Byrd was previously designated for return, so it was just a matter of getting him back to full health and finding room on the roster. A spot unexpectedly opened up on Friday when defensive end Charles Johnson was hit with a four-game ban for performance enhancing drugs.
Byrd could be primed for a bigger role than initially projected at the start of the season. Recently, second-round pick Curtis Samuel went down with an ankle injury and Byrd could help replace his speed in the lineup.
“You never know what would happen from Week 4 to Week 12 or 13, so it kind of worked out pretty well,” Byrd recently told the team website when asked about the opportunity ahead of him. “At the end of the day, I just wanted to have a chance to come back and right now it looks like I have that. So I’m happy for it and ready to be back playing.”
Byrd, 24, has appeared in five games for Carolina over the last two seasons. He’ll look to build his stat line when the 8-3 Panthers take on the Saints this Sunday.
Cowboys’ Orlando Scandrick Suffers Injury
Cowboys defensive back Orlando Scandrick suffered two transverse process fractures in his back, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The injury will cost him at least one game and potentially more. 
Scandrick suffered the injury on the third play of last night’s win over the Redskins. Remarkably, he managed to play through the pain. On Friday morning, doctors delivered the bad news.
This marks Scandrick’s second significant injury of the year. In the season opener, the cornerback suffered a broken hand. Remarkably, he missed only one game following surgery.
So far this year, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus are not crazy about Scandrick’s work. He has a 47.8 overall grade for his eleven games, placing him as just the No. 89 cornerback in the NFL out of 118 qualified players. Last year, Scandrick ranking an 27th out of 111 qualified corners as he totaled 46 tackles, two sacks, and an interception.
While Scandrick is out, the Cowboys will likely start rookie Jourdan Lewis or Anthony Brown in his place.