Kevin Abrams

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). Jerry Reese (vertical)

[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.

Lions To Interview Kevin Abrams For GM Job

The Lions have identified another potential candidate for their general manager job, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit will interview Giants executive Kevin Abrams. La Canfora notes that Abrams is well regarded by Ernie Accorsi, who is consulting for the Lions during their GM search.

Abrams, the longtime assistant general manager in New York, is the second Giants executive to draw interest from a team with a GM opening this week. The Titans have reportedly lined up an interview with Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, targeting him as a potential replacement for Ruston Webster.

The Lions have now increased their list of general manager candidates to at least four men. Besides Abrams and interim GM Sheldon White, who will get an opportunity to make his case for the permanent position, Detroit has also asked for and received permission to interview Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn and Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner.

The Lions are also said to have put in a request to interview Bengals personnel chief Duke Tobin. However, Tobin intends to remain with Cincinnati for the long term.

With Detroit’s general manager hunt moving forward, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press looked at the 10 most pressing issues that the team’s next GM will have to address.

Coaching/GM Notes: Pagano, Browns, Fins, Cowboys, Lions

The latest news on various teams’ coaching and front office situations as Black Monday approaches:

  • Colts owner Jim Irsay will meet with Chuck Pagano on Monday to discuss the head coach’s future, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com. After helping lead the Colts to playoff berths in his first three years with the team, Pagano’s club missed out this season during an injury-riddled, tumultuous campaign, going 8-8. As a result, the Colts are expected to let go of Pagano, whose contract is up, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).
  • With Ray Farmer out as the Browns’ general manager, the franchise might turn its football operations over to executive vice president/general counsel Sashi Brown, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News reports (Twitter link).
  • Adam Gase, Jim Mora Jr., Mike Shanahan, Teryl Austin, Mike Smith, Dirk Koetter and Doug Marrone are all currently connected to the Dolphins’ head coaching job, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
  • Not surprisingly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed Sunday that Jason Garrett will return in 2016 for his seventh season as the team’s head coach. “Let me be real clear: There’s no thought of replacing Jason. At all,” Jones said, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). Jones acknowledged that Garrett’s staff could change, though, as four assistant coaches’ contracts expire (Twitter link via Williams). Whether those changes happen will be up to Garrett, who Jones says is “the ultimate-decision maker” when it comes to the coaching staff (Twitter link via Fox Sports’ Matt Mosley).
  • Lions president Rod Wood says the club’s search for a new general manager will begin in earnest Monday, tweets Tim Twentyman of the team’s website. Interim GM Sheldon White will be among those interviewed, according to Wood (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press), and Greg Gabriel of NFPost.com reports the Lions will also talk to Giants assistant GM Kevin Abrams (via Twitter). Another Giants executive, Marc Ross, could also get a look, tweets Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo.