Giants Interview Dave Gettleman For GM Job
The Giants interviewed Dave Gettleman for their GM vacancy on Wednesday. He is the second person to sit for a formal interview with team brass, following VP of player evaluation Marc Ross. 
The former Panthers GM has been connected to the position ever since Jerry Reese was fired in early December. It has been widely reported that he is the frontrunner for the position, though he is in competition with Ross, interim GM Kevin Abrams, and likely several other experiences executives.
There’s a lot of work to be done in New York, but Gettleman has experience with turning around a franchise that is behind the 8-ball. When Gettleman took over in Carolina, the Panthers were in a horrendous salary cap situation. He fixed things in short order as the Panthers made the postseason in each of his first three years in Carolina, including a Super Bowl appearance. The Panthers went 6-10 in his final year at the helm, but they’re riding high once again this season with the roster that he constructed.
Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi is serving as a consultant in the team’s search and he has a longstanding relationship with Gettleman. In 2013, Accorsi helped to steer Gettleman into the Panthers GM seat.
According to a press release put out by the team, Gettleman interviewed with Accorsi, team president John Mara, and chairman Steve Tisch. If history is any indication, it might not take long for the Accorsi-led search to wrap up. The 76-year-old consulted with the Panthers (2013), Bears (2015), and Lions (2016) and each team made their hire roughly one week after the regular season ended.
Gettleman’s own ties to the Giants organization should also give him an advantage. He served as an assistant to then-pro personnel director Tim Rooney in 1998, which was Accorsi’s first season as GM. He was promoted to pro personnel director in 1999 upon Rooney’s retirement and remained in the position for 13 years.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/19/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Vontarrius Dora, WR Rashad Ross
- Waived: LB Kevin Snyder
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: OL Javarius Leamon, OL Oni Omoile
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Trevon Hartfield
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Adairius Barnes
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: QB Jerod Evans
Houston Texans
- Signed: TE Zach Conque
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Arthur Miley
- Waived: DT Jeremy Liggins
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB James Onwualu
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Bernard Reedy
- Waived: DL Marcus Hardison
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Amba Etta-Tawo
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: S Stefan McClure
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S Alex Carter, DE Noble Nwachukwu
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Johnny Maxey
- Waived: TE Jerome Cunningham
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Tavaris Barnes
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/17
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Bronson Hill
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Brittan Golden
Buffalo Bills
- Designated to return from injured reserve: S Colt Anderson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB B.W. Webb
- Placed on injured reserve: DB Derrick Kindred
Denver Broncos
- Promoted to active roster: CB Michael Hunter
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Shane Ray (story)
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Broncos‘ practice squad: OL Dillon Day
- Waived: FB Joe Kerridge
New York Giants
- Activated from injured reserve: DE Romeo Okwara
- Waived: LB Jeremy Cash
New York Jets
- Waived from injured reserve: LB Edmond Robinson
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: LB Kache Palacio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted to active roster: LB Nigel Harris, DT Channing Ward
Washington Redskins
- Promoted to active roster: S Fish Smithson
- Placed on injured reserve: S Montae Nicholson
Giants Interview Marc Ross For GM Job
The Giants announced that they have interviewed Marc Ross for their GM vacancy. Ross has spent more than a decade with the organization, including the last five years as the Giants’ vice president of player evaluation.
Ross’ job places him in charge of the Giants’ college scouting department and the team’s draft. He is said to be among the team’s leading internal candidates for the job, along with interim GM Kevin Abrams. It is expected that Abrams and former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman will also interview this week, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
It has been suggested that George Paton (Vikings), Eliot Wolf (Packers), and Joe Douglas (Eagles) could also be among those considered. For now, Ross, Abrams, and Gettleman are the only executives confirmed to have interviews scheduled.
Ross was among the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s suggested candidates for GM jobs last year, though he was not on the list this season.
Opinion: Giants Should Start Davis Webb
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe and Phil Perry and Mike Giardi of NBCSports.com take a look at some of the potential landing spots for Patriots OC Josh McDaniels should he depart New England for a head coaching gig this offseason. The NBC scribes suggest that some of the coaching opportunities may not be as desirable as they were earlier this season — given the increased concerns over Andrew Luck‘s shoulder and the mess that the Giants recently made of their quarterback situation — but both pieces suggest that now might be as good a time as any for McDaniels to make his second run as a head coach (and for director of player personnel Nick Caserio, who is typically marketed along with McDaniels, to get his first crack at a GM job).
- James Kratch of NJ.com says the Giants‘ handling of Davis Webb makes no sense, and that New York should start the rookie quarterback over the last few games of the season. After all, if he plays poorly, it won’t ruin his career, and the 2-11 Giants actually stand to benefit from losing out. If he plays well, obviously that would be good for the team, and even though the talent around him is poor, he can still be evaluated, which Kratch says the Giants owe to their new regime. Kratch makes a number of good points, but it sounds as if Eli Manning will remain under center for the duration of 2017, which Kratch says smacks of a desperate campaign to appease Manning.
Justin Pugh To Avoid Surgery
On Thursday, the Giants placed guard Justin Pugh on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury. The good news for the fifth-year lineman is that he will not require surgery, Newsday’s Tom Rock reports. 
Rock notes that Pugh, who is a free agent at the end of the season, could have played in his last game with the franchise that drafted him in 2013. With a new general manager and head coach in the future for the Giants, the new management could decide a new guard is also in the plans. Pugh is the longest-tenured member of the team without a Super Bowl ring.
Since entering the league, Pugh has started in all 63 of his games but hasn’t suited up for a full 16-game season since his rookie campaign. He appeared in eight games this season and graded out as the No. 52 guard in the league, per Pro Football Focus. Though he has endured a down season, Pugh placed in the top 20 among all guards in his previous two seasons.
Giants To Interview Interim GM Kevin Abrams
Giants interim general manager Kevin Abrams confirmed he will interview for the full-time job, reports Newsday’s Tom Rock.
A longtime assistant to former GM Jerry Reese, who was fired on Dec. 4, Abrams is expected to meet with owners John Mara and Steve Tisch some time next week though Abrams only confirmed it will take place before the season is over.
One piece of information that gives Abrams a leg up on the competition is the fact New York hasn’t hired a GM from outside the organization since it tabbed George Young in 1979. Abrams joined the Giants 15 years ago and has worked prevalently with the salary cap, though he claims, “I wasn’t raised to be a cap guy; it was just the opportunity that was given to me.”
Shortly after the firing of Reese, who had served as GM since 2007, the MMQB’s Peter King talked with several NFL executives who named Minnesota’s George Paton, Green Bay’s Eliot Wolf and Philadelphia’s Joe Douglas as three of the top new candidates from around the league. He also mentioned former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli and Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta among the veterans who could surface in the search.
Cowher Has No Interest In Coaching Giants
Every time a head-coaching position pops up, it seems like Bill Cowher’s name seems to surface. The former Steelers head coach and Super Bowl XL winner quickly quelled any possible talk of him heading to New York to take the Giants job, however, saying he has no interest to leave CBS to return to the sidelines, Justin Terranova of the New York Post writes. 
Though it was unlikely Cowher, who is now 11 years removed from his last game, would be a candidate for the job, some thought if anyone could lure him away from TV it would be the Mara family. Cowher confirmed he was happy and content with his current profession, saying, “It’s not even about a team, it’s about lifestyle. Coaching is always going to be a great challenge and every building dynamic is different. I had the best job in football and I was able to step away and transition from it to a next phase of life, which, quite frankly, I am very, very comfortable with. I am in a very good place.”
In his 15-year run with the Steelers, Cowher amassed a 149-90 record and appeared in two Super Bowls, winning his final trip in his second to last season in the Steel City. Since leaving the game, he has often been among the first names mentioned for a vacant position, but the balance in lifestyle afforded to him by CBS has him in a good spot.
He did mention that whoever takes the job has tough to decisions to make with regards to Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr.’s future with the team.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/15/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:
New York Giants
- LB Tyrell Adams (link)
New York Jets
- Ts Korren Kirven, Javarius Leamon (link)
San Francisco 49ers
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/15/17
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from injured reserve: LS Aaron Brewer
- Claimed off waivers: CB C.J. Goodwin
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted to active roster: TE Kyle Carter
- Placed on injured reserve: TE Blake Bell
New York Giants
- Promoted to active roster: S Ryan Murphy
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived off injured reserve: DE Evan Panfil