Giants To Waive OL Bobby Hart
Dave Gettleman isn’t wasting any time in his new gig as Giants general manager. USA Today’s Art Stapleton reports (via Twitter) that the team is planning on waiving offensive lineman Bobby Hart.
The 2015 seventh-round pick out of Florida State has spent his entire career with the Giants, starting 21 of his 33 career games (including seven starts this season). Pro Football Focus hasn’t been particularly thrilled with his performance in 2017, ranking him 82nd among 86 eligible offensive tackle candidates. In fact, the lineman’s PFF rating has consistently dropped in each of his three seasons in the NFL.
The 23-year-old still had a year remaining on his contract, but it doesn’t sound like the move was money- or performance-based. Rather, Geoff Schwartz of SBNation tweets that the new regime may be looking to clear out “locker room cancers,” and the reporter notes that Hart randomly informed Giants staff that he wasn’t planning on playing this weekend.
With Hart out of the picture, the Giants could turn to Chad Wheeler, John Greco, or Damien Mama to slide into the starting lineup for this weekend’s season finale.
Giants Notes: Manning, Beckham, Apple, OL
Dave Gettleman met with media for the first time as Giants GM on Friday, and he addressed the Eli Manning situation. Working under Ernie Accorsi when Manning was selected and staying on through the Giants’ second 21st-century Super Bowl title in 2011, Gettleman looked to show some faith Manning has quality football left. The new GM said he expects Manning to start in 2018.
“Eli’s won a lot of games,” Gettleman said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “A great competitor, very intelligent. He and I are gonna talk and if what I saw in Philadelphia was not a mirage — and I don’t believe it is — we’ll keep moving.”
Saddled with one of the league’s worst offensive lines and ground attacks, Manning has not enjoyed a good season. But he threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns against the NFC’s No. 1 seed earlier this month. Manning’s only other 300-plus-yard game this season came against the Eagles as well. Gettleman, however, said the Manning situation wouldn’t affect a possible first-round quarterback pick and added the “as of now” caveat to his Manning-in-2018 remarks, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv.
Here’s the latest out of New York on a busy day for the franchise.
- John Mara has not wavered on his Odell Beckham Jr. stance. Although the co-owner said he’s unsure when an extension will be discussed for the rehabbing superstar, he remains committed to the wideout long-term. “Let’s face it, players with his ability don’t come along very often. So, yes, I want him to be a part of this team’s future,” Mara said, via Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (on Twitter). Gettleman, however, wasn’t as firm on a Beckham deal. Although, the new GM’s hesitance on an “obviously extremely talented kid” was largely based on a lack of interactions with Beckham, Vacchiano tweets. Beckham’s headed into his fifth-year option season.
- Giants ownership wanted to wait until after the season when they could talk to other GM candidates, but after meeting with Gettleman, Mara and Co. decided to proceed in order to be ready to conduct a head-coaching search after Week 17’s conclusion, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
- Eli Apple‘s status with the Giants may be in the murky-at-best category after his disastrous sophomore NFL season. But Mara isn’t ready to throw in the towel on the cornerback yet. “You don’t want to quit on talent,” Mara said, via Jones (on Twitter). “I happen to like him personally. I’m obviously disturbed with what’s happened this year. … I think we have to figure out what’s going on with him. But I’d like for him to be a part of this team’s future.” The Giants suspended Apple for Week 17, and a source told ESPN’s Josina Anderson he would soon be done in New York. Apple is under contract through 2019, although this suspension makes that deal less binding.
- Gettleman wasn’t vague about one area in need of repairs. The new Giants GM said the offensive lined needs to be fixed (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). Big Blue’s boasted one of the NFL’s worst fronts for the past two years, and both Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg are in line to be free agents — and two of the best available. Ereck Flowers has not lived up to the billing as a top-10 pick, but his contract is guaranteed through 2018. Last year’s O-line draft class was not viewed as strong; this one has received higher marks early in the pre-draft process.
- Accorsi could well seek Bill Belichick‘s counsel regarding a potential hire, but Garafolo reports (video link) he’s heard nothing to suggest the Patriots coach is playing a role in the Giants’ HC search thus far. A report earlier today indicated some buzz about Belichick advising Accorsi to get the Giants to hire Eagles DC Jim Schwartz.
Jim Schwartz On Giants’ HC Radar?
Having moved rather quickly to replace Jerry Reese with former Reese lieutenant Dave Gettleman, the Giants now are focused on filling their HC vacancy.
Ernie Accorsi will not “officially” be part of this search for their next head coach, John Mara said (via James Kratch of NJ.com, on Twitter). Accorsi won’t sit in on interviews, but the ex-Big Blue GM will be a resource in the process, per Mara. The Gettleman hire occurring — after myriad reports of the former Panthers GM being the favorite — leads some around the league to believe they have a coaching candidate ready to pair with Gettleman, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk hears.
Florio writes Eagles DC Jim Schwartz is the name that’s been most connected with this vacancy and floated an interesting reason for this buzz. Accorsi is believed to lean heavily on Bill Belichick‘s advice and Florio’s heard the Patriots HC has suggested Accorsi recommend Schwartz’s hire to Gettleman.
This would make for an interesting route, and Florio adds some in the league regard this recommendation as a way for Belichick to keep Josh McDaniels in the fold for another season. However, McDaniels has been connected to an HC avenues alongside New England VP of player personnel Nick Caserio as GM. A previous GM candidate, Caserio looks to be out of the picture for the Giants after Gettleman’s hire.
Mara said he would prefer an experienced head coach to take over, per Kratch (Twitter link). This would match up with Schwartz, who has extensive experience as a defensive coordinator and served as the Lions’ HC for five years. Schwartz has also had supporters within the Giants organization for years, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv notes, adding some sources believe Gettleman is high on the HC candidate as well.
Steve Spagnuolo will interview, but Mara is unsure OC Mike Sullivan will. Mara opened Gettleman’s presser today by saying he sought an exec with GM experience, so it would stand to reason the traditional organization wants a more seasoned HC. Mara’s Ben McAdoo hire — after only two years of coordinator experience — did not work out, so he’s planning to take a different route this time.
The Giants could interview Schwartz next week since the Eagles have booked a bye. The Ringer’s Mike Lombardi tweets the Giants wanted their GM search to conclude before the season ended in order to be ready to “act quickly” on a coaching search by the time interviews could be scheduled.
There’s certainly some unique reasoning associated with it, but Schwartz — who runs a 4-3 defense like the Giants do and has long been regarded as an upper-echelon DC — looks to be firmly on New York’s radar.
Brandon Marshall Eyeing Multiple Additional Seasons
Brandon Marshall‘s Giants contract has not produced what the team envisioned. The 12th-year wide receiver barely made it into October before an injury cost him the rest of this season.
Signed to a two-year contract, Marshall wants to play beyond that deal despite this latest setback.
“I’m all-in on football. I’ve rebuilt my body,” Marshall said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. “I think I’m two great years away from — and I’ll say it, I want to be a Hall of Famer, and I think I got two great years to go to be mentioned with some of the greats. I’m not just playing this game just to be a guy; I want to be remembered for the product that I put out on the field.”
Marshall will turn 34 in March, and he’s one of the oldest skill-position players in the league. But Marshall has defied norms during his eventful career. One of the most productive nomads in NFL history, having posted 1,000-yard seasons with four teams, Marshall has still yet to appear in a playoff game. His production dropped off for the 2016 Jets, with a 788-yard season following a 1,502-yard 2015 campaign. However, the Giants signed Marshall to a two-year, $12MM deal in March.
He’s set to make $5MM in base salary next season, but the now-Dave Gettleman-managed Giants will have a new head coach in place and are going to be coming off a two- or three-win season. So, Marshall’s spot in New York can’t be considered solid. The Giants could create $5.1MM in cap space by releasing him.
Marshall, who has resumed running after an October ankle surgery, was rather ambiguous when asked if he’d consider accepting a pay cut.
“You know how it is, you get to the plus side of 30, a production slip, you get injured, the business side of it, history says that you’re going to get cut or they are going to ask you to take a pay cut,” Marshall said. “That’s the business side of it; that’s history. So I’m prepared for that. I’ve had a lot of change in my life, but one of the reasons why I came to this organization was for stability and also not to be an environment that we created this year, right? So I was looking for more stability, but I’m built for this and I’ll learn from it.
“… It’s about respect; it’s about finishing strong, and although it’s not about the money, but I’m approaching it as whatever is for me, I want it all. If that’s $100,000, $500,000, $1 million, I want it all. Whatever I’m worth, I want it all.”
Reactions To The Giants Hiring Dave Gettleman
The Giants were able to move quickly in their search for a new general manager when they officially hired former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman on Thursday afternoon. The move was met with positive feedback across the football world, with many of local and national pundits crediting New York for making the hire before the New Year so they can hit the ground running with their head coaching search following the end of the regular season.
Here are some specific takes on the team’s decision to hire Gettleman:
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com posted a video on Twitter after the news broke mentioning how the hiring of a guy like Gettleman as “rare” at this point in the NFL calender. Rapoport noted that teams don’t normally have the chance to hire accomplished executives before the regular season ends. But it’s actually happened twice this season with the hirings of Gettleman and new Browns general manager John Dorsey. Rapoport also pointed out that the move was a signal that the franchise wouldn’t drastically change the way they conduct business. New York just simply wanted a new voice leading the football operations. Gettleman is familiar with the organization having worked for the team from 1998-2012 before accepting his former position in Carolina.
- James Kratch of NJ Advance Media attempted to point out some differences between Gettleman and former general manager Jerry Reese. Kratch points out Gettleman’s philosophy to build from the lines out, while Reese put more of emphasis on acquiring quality skill players. Kratch also touches on how Gettleman comes from a more pro personnel background rather than Reese’s history as a scout for the NFL draft. The two also have differences in dealing with players and the media with Gettleman forming better relationships with people covering the team, while Reese showed more of a track record for getting along with the roster, including star players. Finally, Kratch mentions that Gettleman has shown much more of a tendency to wheel and deal on draft night, while Reese was more or less set on taking players at the team’s original draft pick.
- On a different note, while he wasn’t killing the decision by any means, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post focused on how the Giants made the hire everyone was expecting to make. Schwartz notes that the Giants haven’t made an executive hire of anyone from outside the organization in the last 40 years. The team didn’t break this mold even after one of the worst years in franchise history. Gettleman has a long history with the Giants, which made him a clear front runner for the position. Overall, Schwartz expresses that Gettleman is accomplished and deserving, but doesn’t bring a sense of outside the box thinking to the organization.
- Ralph Vacchiano of SNY concludes that Gettleman was the right hire because of his “eye for talent and knowledge of building a winning team”. Vacchiano expresses that while the search was primarily an in-house affair with ESPN analyst Louis Reddick representing the only candidate from outside the Giants organizational tree. Though that doesn’t mean that the front office will simply get a Reese 2.0 football operations department with Gettleman at the helm. He’ll likely make enough changes to ease the concerns of Giants fans, while maintaining much needed stability as well. The beat reporter likes his tendency to get good players in the trenches too. In the end, the writer believes that ownership didn’t need to take any unnecessary risks, and that Gettleman gives the front office exactly what it needs moving forward.
Assistant GM Kevin Abrams Likely To Stay With The Giants
The Giants announced today that they’ve hired former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman to lead the team’s football operations for the foreseeable future. However, just because the team has brought in a new face to be the head of the front office, doesn’t mean all of the previous decision makers will be on their way out the door. It’s expected that Gettleman will keep current assistant general manager Kevin Abrams on board for next season, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link).
Abrams was one of two internal candidates to interview for the general manager position. Marc Ross, the team’s vice president of player evaluation, also spoke to ownership, although nothing has been reported as of yet in regards to his future.
As the presumptive number two in command under former GM Jerry Reese, Abrams was primarily involved with the team’s working of the cap, which will help him to remain a crucial part of the Giants decision making process this offseason. Abrams has been with the organization for past 16 years, so he should help make Gettleman’s transition into the lead role a lot smoother in the weeks ahead.
Gettleman offers experience and a track record as the leader of a front office, but Abrams should continue to have a major footprint in how the team conducts its business in the months to come.
Giants Hire Dave Gettleman As GM
The Giants have themselves a new GM. The team announced the hiring of Dave Gettleman on Thursday afternoon. He’ll be formally introduced to local media at a Thursday morning news conference.
“Given where we are as a team, we thought it was important to bring in someone with experience as a General Manager and a proven track record,” president John Mara and chairman Steve Tisch said in a joint statement. “Dave’s experience is unparalleled. He did an outstanding job as general manager in Carolina, and he was vital to our success during his tenure here. Dave is going to bring his own approach to our organization in how we draft and acquire players through free agency.”
Gettleman takes the wheel during a critical time for the Giants. After losing their three top receivers to injury in the opening weeks of the season, the Giants have had one of their worst seasons in franchise history. Heading into Week 17, the G-Men have one of the league’s worst records at 2-13.
Finding a new coach will be at the top of Gettleman’s to-do list. Ownership has indicated that interim coach Steve Spagnuolo will be among those interviewed for the job, but the rest will likely be up to Gettleman. This year’s top candidates include Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, and Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. It’s possible that Wilks could have a leg up on the rest given his history with Gettleman.
Beyond that, the Giants will have to figure out how to handle the Eli Manning situation. The team’s previous regime ignited a firestorm of controversy by benching Manning this year in favor of backup Geno Smith. Days later, Manning was re-installed as the starter while Reese and coach Ben McAdoo were shown the door. Manning says he wants to stay in New York, but the team owes him a $5MM roster bonus in March. The Giants can escape that obligation by releasing him, though they do not have an obvious replacement in-house. Smith, of course, is not a viable option and rookie Davis Webb has yet to see the field.
Gettleman boasts 30 years of experience in the NFL, including four seasons as the Panthers’ GM and 15 seasons in the Giants organization. His history with the team and close relationship with Ernie Accorsi, who served as a hiring consultant in the team’s search, helped him land the job.
The Giants also interviewed interim general manager Kevin Abrams, vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, and former NFL executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for the position. Accorsi has a history of guiding teams to a quick hire, but it was widely expected that a new GM would not be appointed until the New Year. However, it appears that the Giants were unwilling to risk losing Gettleman to another team in need of a GM.
Gettleman, 66, first came to the Giants in 1998 as as assistant to then-pro personnel director Tim Rooney. Soon after, he was promoted into Rooney’s role. He remained with the organization until 2013 when Accorsi, acting as a hiring consultant for the the Panthers, pushed Carolina to hire him as GM.
Gettleman is the Giants’ fourth GM since 1979, following the lengthy runs of George Young, Accorsi, and Jerry Reese.
Breer’s Latest: Black Monday Preview
With the final week of the NFL’s regular season approaching, that only means two things; 12 teams will soon be focusing on reaching the Super Bowl, while the rest will start to look ahead to next season. One major part of looking forward is addressing who on the coaching staff will be returning in 2018. Many of these coaching questions are answered on the day following Week’s 17 conclusion, conveniently called “Black Monday”.
Veteran reporter Albert of Breer of Sports Illustrated, gave a preview of the coaches he expects to stay and the ones that will likely be shown the door in his most recent column. Breer ranked the potential firings as “Likely/Done”, “We’ll See”, and “It’s Complicated”. In total, there were 15 head coaches mentioned who could see their situations change starting next week.
Here’s a quick look at Breer’s takes on some of the league’s hottest coaching questions:
- There were five head coaches included in the “likely/done” category including: Bears‘ John Fox, Bengals‘ Marvin Lewis, Lions‘ Jim Caldwell, Colts‘ Chuck Pagano and and the Giants‘ interim coach Steve Spagnuolo. The four full-time head coaches on this list have all had their fair share of success in the league. In fact, three of them led their current teams to multiple playoff appearances during their tenure. However, Caldwell and Lewis have been unable to win a postseason game with Pagano and Fox having failed at continuing the past success they have shown during their careers in football. Breer notes that while the “expectation is that Fox will be gone”, the decision on the fate of general manager Ryan Pace is true question facing the franchise this offseason. There’s been rapid speculation about Lewis, Caldwell and Pagano throughout the year, so their inclusion on this list is no surprise. Finally, the Giants are currently interviewing general manager candidates who will almost certainly be looking to lead their own head coaching search once hired.
- Breer puts six current head coaches in the ‘we’ll see” part of the list. This portion mentions the Cardinals‘ Bruce Arians, Broncos‘ Vance Joseph, Raiders‘ Jack Del Rio, Buccaneers‘ Dirk Koetter, Titans‘ Mike Mularkey and the Redskins‘ Jay Gruden. There’s a variety of situations going on here with Breer noting that Arizona could see Arians retire, which could lead them to other current NFL head coaches: Todd Bowles and Bill O’Brien. Del Rio and Gruden have had their fair share of success because of quality quarterback play, but both have managed to decrease confidence because of an inconsistent 2017 season. However, Breer points out that both are signed long-term so their owners would have to eat the remaining years of their current deals. Mularkey and Koetter were rewarded for the relationships they formed with their QB’s, but there’s been disappointment with how this season has unfolded for their teams. Breer notes that should Mularkey lose this Sunday, he could be on the chopping block come Monday morning with the team looking to hire an offensive-minded coach like Josh McDaniels. Finally, Joseph has forced himself to the hot seat even in his first year of coaching the Broncos, though Breer says himself that this situation is “unpredictable” given that team president John Elway is just “not pleased with how the season’s gone”.
- Browns head coach Hue Jackson, and the two previously mentioned O’Brien and Bowles of the Texans and Jets, find themselves on the “it’s complicated” section of Breer’s roundup largely because of just the many factors are at play in regards to their situations. Jackson got a vote of confidence from owner Jimmy Haslam himself, but new general manager John Dorsey could have his sights on implementing his own guy after a winless season. O’Brien has made the playoffs before, but has struggled committing to a QB even after the team selected Deshaun Watson in the first round. Bowles has done a lot with a little in New York this season, but ownership could go in a different direction with a new starting signal caller likely walking into the building next year. Also, there is the potential that all three coaches could move onto new head coaching gigs with the number of openings that could be available this offseason. The final and definitely most surprising inclusion on this list was Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who Breer mentions could retire at age 66 with a roster about to see major turnover in the next few years. Although, I would venture that nothing he’s said this season would indicate that being the case.
Contract Clause To Signal Apple’s Release?
On Wednesday, the Giants suspended second-year cornerback Eli Apple for conduct detrimental to the team. With the suspension, the team could have cleared the way to release the 2016 first-round pick without having to pay his contract guarantees for 2018 and 2019, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes. 
Graziano says Apple’s contract includes a clause that allows the team to void his guaranteed money if “among other things, ‘Player is suspended by the NFL or by the Club’ or ‘Player engages in conduct reasonably judged by the Club to adversely affect or reflect on Club, in Club’s sole discretion.'”
Graziano reports the Giants could then argue that they wouldn’t be on the hook for his guaranteed salaries of $1,827,484 in 2018 and $2,516,226 in 2019 if they were to release him.
To say this has been a roller-coaster ride for the Giants is an understatement. The team entered the 2017 season as Super Bowl contenders with one of the most promising secondaries in the league. It will end, however, with captain Landon Collins calling Apple a cancer and the team suspending the young corner for a series of events we detailed earlier in the day.
The writing appears to be on the wall for New York to cut ties with the No. 10 pick in last year’s draft at the end of the season.
Giants Suspend Eli Apple For Week 17
A historically tumultuous season for Giants cornerbacks will end with a third being suspended for a game. The Giants suspended Eli Apple for Week 17, the team announced.
This comes a day after Landon Collins publicly referred to the second-year corner as “a cancer.” Steve Spagnuolo met with Collins and Apple today in what was called a “really productive” summit, one that included a Collins apology. But the Giants banned Apple nonetheless. He received the news in a meeting with Spagnuolo and interim GM Kevin Abrams.
“We have suspended Eli for a pattern of behavior that is conduct detrimental to the team,” Abrams said.
This pattern of behavior looks to have produced a final-straw moment Wednesday. ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan and Dan Graziano report Apple argued with coaches, including cornerbacks coach Tim Walton, at practice. That argument looks to have been catalyzed by Apple’s refusal to take the field with the Giants’ scout team, Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (Twitter link). Apple was already arguing unspecified matters with coaches prior to refusing the scout-team assignment, Garofolo tweets. This wasn’t the first argument between Apple and Walton, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv (on Twitter).
Apple played only on special teams in Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, ceding his spot to less-heralded cogs — and first-year Giants — Brandon Dixon and Ross Cockrell. The Ohio State product started in seven games this season after opening with the first unit 11 times as a rookie. He finished with exactly the same amount of tackles as last season (49) and recovered two fumbles as well. Pro Football Focus slotted Apple as its No. 73 full-time corner this season, putting him fourth among Giants.
The Giants surprised many by taking Apple No. 10 overall in 2016, with Big Blue eschewing an offensive line need to take a corner in spite of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins‘ statuses. Now, Apple follows in their footsteps by incurring a one-game suspension. Ben McAdoo suspended the starting duo at different junctures this season before being fired.
Apple and Collins would not have shared the field this weekend because Collins is now out for the year due to injury. The defensive backs’ beef goes back to at least to a point earlier this month, when Collins had to be restrained from going after Apple inside the team facility. A report in November also indicated Apple nearly left the Giants’ facility because of a film-room session featuring harsh critiques from teammates and coaches. Apple’s mother also underwent brain surgery this fall, and the second-year defender was given time off because of it.
“(Landon and I) had a quick conversation this morning and then I had a quick conversation with Eli,” Spagnuolo said about the aforementioned summit involving himself and the two at-odds defensive backs. “And then all three of us had a really good conversation and it was very productive and I’ll just leave it at that. It’s between them and they were really great.”
One of several Ohio State corners to be first-round picks in recent years, Apple is under contract through 2019.