The Giants are moving forward with Dave Gettleman as their general manager as the owner believes the team is heading in the right direction and Gettleman is the right man to continue the build process alongside head coach Joe Judge.
The most important decision of the off-season, determining if there is a change at the top, has been decided, The Post has learned, and it’s a tendency towards continuity. Gettleman returns for a fourth season.
Not knowing exactly when their season would end was a step forward for a franchise that has become accustomed to packing up and breaking up in an orderly and previously planned manner for most of the past decade. The Giants were not eliminated from the playoffs until the very last game played in the NFL season, which is a sign of progress, however unimpressive their 6-10 record turned out to be.
Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch weren’t mesmerized by the down-to-the-wire playoff race as they realized the roster isn’t where it needs to be yet and by winning six games in a season comes a team normally closer to last place than first place. However, there is a belief that the arrow points up. Mara and Gettleman will meet with the media on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the condition of the team and the factors involved in retaining Gettleman.
The Giants were 9-23 in Gettleman’s first two years. The litmus test Mara released after the 2019 season was that the team had to show signs of growth, that Gettleman was improving his batting average in player staff moves, and that there were pieces to propel the franchise into the Super Bowl battle.
The 6-10 record is a slight increase from 4-12 in 2019. Gettleman’s returns in the 2020 NFL Draft and especially in free agency in 2020 – James Bradberry, Blake Martinez and Logan Ryan’s signings on defense and kicker Graham Gano were slam-dunk successes – was pretty high and his controversial dedication to Leonard Williams paid off immensely. Williams finished the season with a career-high 11.5 sacks and admitted it was gratifying to “show why Dave Gettleman took a chance on me … and it feels good to show him that was the right choice. ”
Just as Gettleman, who will turn 70 on February 21, took a hit for his involvement in hiring Pat Shurmur, Gettleman is also getting credit for hiring Judge, seen in the building downright as a coaching find.
Gettleman’s return isn’t the only issue or decision coming when the off-season kicks in. Here are a few of the highlights:
The offensive coordinator: The Giants finished on average with 17.5 points per game, 31st in the league. They were 31st in total yards per game, 29th in passing yards and 19th in rushing yards. In a season when the NFL set scoring records, the Giants surpassed 30 points once in 16 games. It’s no secret where to point your finger at the sub-.500 record. Jason Garrett built the attack around Saquon Barkley in his first year behind the Giants attack, and the plan lasted six quarters before Barkley went down in week 2 with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Garrett – who has reportedly emerged as a candidate for the Chargers head coaching vacancy – struggled to take Daniel Jones to the next level and couldn’t create much debris on the field in the passing game. There is no indication that he and Judge are at odds, but the results indicate that some change is in place and not just in improving the talent.
The defensive linemanWhen the Giants secured Williams for the season with the $ 16.1 million franchise tag, there seemed to be no way for Williams to live up to that money or the two design choices Gettleman gave the Jets to take over. Williams did that more than with a remarkable performance. In his first five NFL seasons, Williams only managed 17.5 sacks. Williams’ virtuoso performance in the Finals against the Cowboys increased his bag total to 11.5, along with his 57 tackles, 14 tackles for losses and 30 quarterback hits. He has done it all and will be paid generously and accordingly when he enters free agency.
Running awayThe whole organization can’t wait to see Barkley take handoffs back on the field and grab the ball with his vice-grip hands in passing play. Barkley is expected to have recovered from ACL surgery in time for the start of the 2021 season. Missing the last 14 games Barkley was a huge blow to the attack. He’s entering the final year of his $ 31.1 million four-year rookie deal. If he wasn’t injured, this would be the time for a lucrative extension. However, this is not the time for that, as Barkley has to re-establish himself as one of the best running backs in the league. To do that, he must prove that he is healthy and has not lost anything. Perhaps the Giants will find a way to extend his contract for another year to boost his salary of $ 920,000 for 2021, but both sides will have to wait for the next big commitment.