Giants’ Mara: ‘We will hire a general manager and that person will lead the effort to hire a new head coach’

The New York Giants fired head coach Joe Judge, the team announced Tuesday.

The Giants were 4-13 in 2021 and ended the season on a six-game losing streak.

In two seasons, the 40-year-old Judge had a 10-23 record.

On Monday, senior vice president and general manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement following a 35-year career in the National Football League.

“Steve (Tisch) and I both believe it is in the best interest of our franchise to move in another direction,” said team president John Mara. “We met with Joe yesterday afternoon to discuss the state of the team. I met again with Joe this afternoon, and it was during that conversation I informed Joe of our decision. We appreciate Joe’s efforts on behalf of the organization.

“I said before the season started that I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed when we played our last game of the season. Unfortunately, I cannot make that statement, which is why we have made this decision.

“We will hire a general manager, and that person will lead the effort to hire a new head coach.”

Added Tisch, “It is an understatement to say John and I are disappointed by the lack of success we have had on the field. We are united in our commitment to find a general manager who will provide the direction necessary for us to achieve the on-field performance and results we all expect.”

Before joining the Giants, Judge was the special teams coordinator for the New England Patriots and spent eight seasons in the Patriots’ organization.

After the way this season ended for the Giants, Judge being relieved of his duties is not surprising.

The Giants needed to overhaul the organization, and they have done that in the last two days.

Giants’ Gettleman announces retirement

New York Giants Senior Vice President and General Manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement Monday.

The 70-year-old Gettleman, according to a statement from the team, informed Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch of his intentions within the past few days and announced it this morning to the players and coaches in their final team meeting of the 2021 season.

“We would like to thank Dave for his commitment to this franchise,” Mara and Tisch said in a joint statement. “He has had a highly accomplished 35-year career in the National Football League. Dave was integral in building three of our Super Bowl teams, including two championship teams, and we wish Dave, his wife Joanne and their entire family all the best in his retirement.”

Mara and Tisch said the search for a general manager will begin immediately and will consist of a diverse pool of qualified candidates. Candidates will be announced after each interview is completed.

“This will be a comprehensive search for our next general manager,” said Mara. “We are looking for a person who demonstrates exceptional leadership and communication abilities, somebody who will oversee all aspects of our football operations, including player personnel, college scouting and coaching.”

Added Tisch, “It is an understatement to say John and I are disappointed by the lack of success we have had on the field. We are united in our commitment to find a general manager who will provide the direction necessary for us to achieve the on-field performance and results we all expect.”

During Gettleman’s four seasons with the Giants, New York was 19-46, including four straight 10-plus loss seasons.

“It was a privilege to serve as the general manager of the New York Giants the last four years and to have spent so many years of my career with this franchise,” Gettleman said. “We obviously have not had the on-the-field success I expected, and that is disappointing. However, I have many fond memories here, including two Super Bowl victories, and I wish the team and organization only the best moving forward. There are many good people here who pour their souls into this organization. I am proud to have worked alongside them.”

Gettleman re-joined the Giants in 2018 after spending 2013-16 as general manager of the Carolina Panthers. In his four seasons, Carolina was 40-23-1 and won three consecutive NFC South titles. In 2015, Carolina finished an NFL-best 15-1 and advanced to Super Bowl 50. Gettleman has been a part of seven Super Bowl teams, including three winners – the Denver Broncos in 1997, and the Giants in 2007 and 2011.

 

Giants’ Judge: ‘This ain’t some clown show organization’

The 2021 season for the New York Giants has been a complete disaster, and the season continued to go downhill as they were blown out by the Bears 29-3 at Soldier Field Sunday.

The loss was the Giants’ fifth in a row and dropped their record to 4-12. They have been outscored during the losing streak, 141-49, and all five losses have been by double digits.

The Giants’ offense was completely inept against the Bears, and three points were the fewest scored by the Giants in Joe Judge’s two seasons as coach. In addition, the Giants did not score a touchdown for the third time this season and the third time in their last five games.

Giants quarterback Mike Glennon threw only 11 passes. He completed four for 24 yards with two interceptions. Glennon was sacked four times for losses totaling 34 yards, so the Giants finished with minus-10 net passing yards, which the Elias Sports Bureau said was the lowest in franchise history. 

After the game, Judge was not very happy, but he defended the Giants’ organization; he believes the team is still headed in the right direction.

“This ain’t a team that’s having fistfights on the sidelines,” Judge said. “This ain’t some clown show organization or something else, OK? You talk about the foundation built; you talk about the things that — the toughest thing to change in a team, the toughest thing to change in a club, is the way people think. You understand that? That’s the toughest thing.

“You can get new players; you can have them in your damn locker room all you want. You have to change how people think. You change how they f—ing — pardon my language — believe in what you’re doing. And they gotta trust the process. And that’s a lot easier said than done when they’re looking up right now, and you got one game left, and the most games you’re going to win is five this season, OK? But I guarantee you this: Those men are going to walk in on Wednesday and be ready to roll. We’re going to practice hard on Wednesday; we’re going to practice hard on Thursday, we’re going to practice hard on Friday, OK? We’re going to play for each other on the field next week.”

New York has to be better, but it’s not all on Judge. However, as the coach, he will get a lot of the blame. Judge inherited QB Daniel Jones, and GM Dave Gettleman has not improved the offensive line. The front office will probably look different next season, which could mean the GM might want his own coach. 

The offseason should be interesting for New York, but more than likely, Judge will probably get a third season to turn this franchise around. 

New York will end their season at home next week against 6-10 Washington:

Watch below as Judge talks loss to Bears, and team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giants’ Jones: ‘I think as we go forward and into next year, we’ve all got to do a better job’

The New York Giants have shut down quarterback Daniel Jones for the rest of the season after placing the quarterback on IR due to a neck injury.

Jones finished the season completing 232 of 361 passes (a career-high 64.3%) for 2,428 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions for a passer rating of 84.8. Jones also rushed for 298 yards and two touchdowns. 

The third-year quarterback was decent this season, and at this point, New York has to decide about Jones’ future going forward. New York will have to determine if they will pick up his fifth-year option after the draft, which would guarantee him $21.3 million.

According to Giants head coach Joe Judge, Jones has done enough, but the front office has to decide what’s best in terms of the contract.

“Yeah, I’ve seen enough growth from Daniel to tell us that he’s a guy we want to go ahead and play with,” Judge said earlier this week. “In terms of the business aspect of it and different things, I’ll let different departments of this organization handle that stuff. I’ll coach the players.”

New York will lose 10 or more games for the fifth straight season, and Jones knows next season the Giants have to be better.

“Well, I think as we go forward and into next year, we’ve all got to do a better job,” Jones said. “Like I said, we didn’t win enough games… I’ve spoken to Joe, and we’ve had conversations about that, but like I said, I think there’s things that I need to improve on. There’s things he expects me to improve on going forward. I understand that and obviously take that very seriously. That’s kind of my approach.”

Injuries have been an issue for Jones. Plus, when healthy, his play has been up and down. In addition, the front office will probably look a little different next season as it is expected that Senior VP and GM Dave Gettleman will likely be replaced, so a new GM could mean a new direction at the quarterback position, which could make this situation very interesting.

If you pick up the fifth-year option, you guarantee Jones’s contract for the next two seasons, and that’s a gamble. Jones is 12-25 as a starter and has thrown 45 touchdowns with 29 interceptions and 20 lost fumbles, so that’s a lot of turnovers. 

In fairness to Jones, New York has never fixed their offensive line issues, and they have struggled with injuries on the offensive side of the ball this season, so it’s not all his fault.

It might be in New York’s best interest not to pick up the fifth-year option and let Jones play out the rest of the contract and see where he stands after next season.

Giants’ Judge: ‘You’re not going to win a lot of games in this league with four turnovers’

For the fifth straight season, the New York Giants(4-10) have lost 10 or more games as they fell to the Dallas Cowboys 21-6 at MetLife Stadium Sunday.

With the loss, the Giants have lost three straight and four out of their last five.

The Cowboys(10-4) forced four turnovers, which led to 15 points.

“You’re not going to win a lot of games in this league with four turnovers,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said after the game. “That’s obviously something we preach and work on consistently. We’ve got to make sure that we eliminate the turnovers. Too many penalties today. Obviously, a lot of things we have to improve on as a team. The focus and the goal is the same as it always is; make adjustments now, come back in and be a better team than we were today to have success this week.”

Giants QB Mike Glennon was not very good Sunday. He completed 13 of 24 passes for 99 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions. Ultimately, he would get pulled in the fourth quarter.

Judge explained why he pulled Glennon and went with Jake Fromm.

“We got to a point in the game where I wanted to see what Jake(Fromm) could do, point blank,” Judge said. “We weren’t doing enough moving the ball otherwise, so I wanted to make sure I had the chance to see Jake, and that will obviously open up a conversation about what we’re going to do this week. We’ll talk about it as a staff, and we’ll make the best decision for the team.”

Fromm, who made his NFL debut Sunday, gave New York a spark, and if Jones is still out, the New York should probably go with Fromm. 

The Giants got more bad news on the injury front as they lost wideout Sterling Shepard to a torn Achilles late in the fourth. Saquon Barkley, who finished with 50 yards rushing Sunday but lost a fumble, discussed Shepard’s injury.

“It’s definitely tough,” Barkley said. “He’s a spark to this team; he’s a leader of this team. Just the energy that he brings every single day on the field and off the field. Anytime you see a guy go down, it’s a sad thing. One thing I know about Shep, he’s a fighter, so it’s a setback, but I know he’s going to attack this rehab.”

Next week, New York heads to Philadelphia to battle the Eagles. 

 

 

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Eagles’ Sirianni on Eagles-Giants rivalry: ‘I am just honored to be a part of it’

Last season, in Week 17, the New York Giants needed the Philadelphia Eagles to defeat the Washington Football Team to win the NFC East, and after three quarters, the Eagles trailed 17-14.

However, early in the fourth quarter, then Eagles head coach Doug Pederson replaced quarterback Jalen Hurts with Nate Sudfeld, who was awful, and ultimately, Washington would defeat Philadelphia 20-14 to win the NFC East.

The following day, Giants head coach Joe Judge was livid and ripped the Eagles for what transpired in that game. 

“There’s a number of sacrifices that have been made by all the players and coaches in this league,” Judge said back in January. “There’s a number of sacrifices that come along as well for the family members of the people connected to them. To disrespect the effort that everyone put forward to make this season a success for the National Football League, to disrespect the game by going out there and not competing for 60 minutes and doing everything you can to help those players win. We will never do that as long as I am the head coach of the New York Giants.”

Philadelphia(5-6), who have won three of their last four games, will travel to MetLife Stadium to battle the Giants(3-7) on Sunday for the first time since last season. New York(3-7) has lost two of its last three.

On Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who was not here last season, spoke about the situation from last year.

“That’s a good question, but that’s something I can’t speak on since I wasn’t here for it,” Sirianni said. “I wasn’t in the building for it. It’s a big rivalry that we are all blessed to be a part of. I am just honored that I can be a part of this rivalry. And it’s a rare thing in the NFL – I don’t want to say a rare thing, but it’s pretty cool to have the rivalries that we have in this division, so I am just honored to be a part of it.”

In reality, after Pederson’s firing, this whole issue is kind of nonexistent. Plus, the Giants are not very good this season and just fired their offensive coordinator, so they have more significant issues to worry about. 

Giants lose winnable game against Chiefs

On Monday night in Kansas City(4-4), the New York Giants(2-6) battled hard and almost defeated the Chiefs, but they fell just short and would lose to Kansas City(4-4) 20-17.

The Giants are 0-6 under Joe Judge, and Daniel Jones is 0-8 in primetime. The Giants have one more scheduled night game on Monday, November 22, at Tampa Bay.

After trailing 14-10 in the fourth quarter, New York would have an eight-play, 57-yard drive, which Evan Engram finished off with a five-yard touchdown reception to take a 17-14 lead. Kansas City would tie the game with a field goal midway through the fourth. 

Late in the fourth, the New York Giants appeared to have gotten a big turnover when corner Darnay Holmes intercepted Patrick Mahomes, but unfortunately for the Giants, LB Oshane Ximines jumped offsides. Kansas City would finish off the drive with a Harrison Butker 34-yard game-winning field goal. 

“You just can’t have penalties like that. Point blank,” Judge said. “Or any penalties we had. That comes down to how we execute on the field and make sure we coach it better, so that doesn’t happen again. We have to do a better job all the way around. There were some situations that came up throughout the game that we have to make sure to eliminate to give ourselves a better chance of success.”

Ximines added: “I’m not making no excuses or anything, but I thought they had some movement on the offensive side of the ball, but my opinion doesn’t matter. It’s what the ref sees. I was offsides; I’m accountable for that. It’s never acceptable to do that. And it goes against everything we’re building as a team. We’re a team that doesn’t like to make mistakes. That’s something we really harp on. I’m looking to make up for that.”

The Giants had 10 penalties against the Chiefs, which marked their second-highest total of the season.

Unfortunately, the Giants did what many bad teams do, find ways to lose. This was a very winnable game for New York, but the Giants could not win a second straight game.

The Giants host the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday in the final game before their bye.

 

 

Giants’ Judge: ‘I don’t quit things, these players don’t quit things’

After one quarter, the New York Giants led the Rams 3-0. However, things fell apart in the second quarter. New York would turn the ball over three times, which led to 14 of the Rams’ 28 points in the second quarter. The game was pretty much over as Los Angeles led 28-3 at the break. The Rams(5-1) would score 38 straight points and defeat the Giants(1-5) 38-11 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

New York came into this game for the second straight week missing key players on offense, including RB Saquon Barkley and WR Kenny Golladay. Against the Rams, New York would lose rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney and second-year LT Andrew Thomas. 

New York had a hard time protecting quarterback Daniel Jones, who was sacked four times on Sunday. In addition, Jones, who had struggled with turnovers in previous seasons but had done an excellent job this season of protecting the ball, had four turnovers against the Rams. Jones finished the game 29/51 for 242 yards with three interceptions and lost a fumble. 

Despite the turnovers, Judge still has a lot of faith in Jones.

“We’ll look specifically at what happened, but Daniel has improved as a player,” Judge said. “Daniel is a guy that we’re going to have success with. He’s a tough dude; he’s a good competitor; he’s a leader on this team, does everything we ask him to do, does everything the team needs to see from a guy in the leadership standpoint to do and perform. We’re going to have success with Daniel. There are obviously things we have to clean up from today.”

New York also struggled defensively against Los Angeles. Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns, interception, and Los Angeles had 131 yards on the ground. Last week, the New York’s defense gave up 516 yards of total offense and 37 points against the Cowboys, which defensive coordinator Patrick Graham called unacceptable.

“We obviously gave up too many points no matter what the situation was,’ Giants DE Leonard Williams said. “We allowed them in the end zone too many times. No matter how we started off, we didn’t finish the way we wanted to.”

At 1-5, the Giants have put themselves in a hole, but Judge believes there’s still time to turn things around.

“There’s a lot of ball left to be played,” he said. “There’s a lot of ball left to be played. We’re in Week 6, so to turn around and start tapping out now – I don’t know what kind of mentality other people have, I don’t quit things, these players don’t quit things. We’re not going to do that.”

The Giants are not a good football team right now, and injuries have definitely hurt this team, but their last two games have been unacceptable, and they have to find a way to get things right next Sunday against the visiting Panthers if they went turn the season around.

Giants’ Judge on injuries: ‘Our guys are going to keep playing’

It’s hard to win in the NFL when you’re at full strength, and it becomes even harder when you’re banged up, and right now, the New York Giants(1-4) are banged up.

Coming into Sunday’s 44-20 loss to the Cowboys(4-1), New York was without wide receivers Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard, and during the game, it got worse. Running back Saquon Barkley left with an ankle injury in the first quarter, and QB Daniel Jones went out with a concussion in the second quarter. Also, wide receiver Kenny Golladay left with a knee injury.

“Our guys are going to keep playing,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said after the game. “That’s not even going to be a question. We’re going to play for 60 minutes. You don’t want anybody to get hurt. You don’t want your teammates to get hurt. You don’t want the other team to get hurt, either. I say it all the time, \but that’s just the truth. You want to have everyone come out of the game healthy. That’s part of the philosophy we believe in. In terms of the next-man-up mentality, well, there’s a lot of good examples today in the game. We have guys stepping up, taking on different roles, being productive, making plays.”

It’s rare for a team to lose its number one receiver, quarterback, and running back in the same game; according to Giants RB Devontae Booker, he’s never experienced anything like it.

“Not that I can recall,” Booker said. “It’s always just one or the other. This today, I was just like, damn. It is next man-up mentality, and we all have to go out there and perform and fight our butt off.”

Also, the Giants would lose rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney for another reason. In the fourth quarter, Toney, who caught 10 passes for 189 yards, both career-highs, got involved in a skirmish, which ended with him punching Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee.

After the game, Judge, who escorted Toney off the field, reacted to the rookie’s ejection.

“Look, there’s a pretty distinct line in terms of competing and doing the things we’re not going to condone as a team that put us behind,” Judge said. “That’s not going to be accepted. It’s not going to be condoned. That’s as far as I’m going to go with that. Obviously, it resulted in him leaving the game, and I’m just going to leave it at that right now.”

Without many of their top players, it will be tough sledding for New York, and it doesn’t get easier as they host the Rams next Sunday.

Watch below as Judge reacts to New York’s loss to the Cowboys:

 

 

Giants’ Jones: ‘We needed a win, and there was a high sense of urgency to do that”

Down 21-10 to the Saints(2-2) in the fourth quarter, it appeared the New York Giants were about to fall to 0-4. However, Daniel Jones connected with Saquon Barkley on a 54-yard touchdown pass, and Jones led the Giants on a drive that ended with a 48-yard Graham Gano field goal to send the game to overtime.

In OT, Jones would lead New York on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a six-yard Barkley touchdown run to give New York(1-3) their first victory of the season 27-21 at Caesars Superdome.

“We needed a win, and there was a high sense of urgency to do that,”  Jones said after the game. “We treated it as one week at a time. We focus throughout the week preparing and playing our best on Sunday. That was our focus this week. We have to continue to work and continue to sharpen things up. It was a big win.”

The Giants gained 485 yards against New Orleans, their highest total since they finished with 552 in the overtime victory in Washington two years ago.

Both Jones and Barkley had big-time performances on Sunday. The third-year quarterback completed 28 of 40 passes for 402 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The 402 yards is a career-high. 

“Look, I love Daniel(Jones),” Giants head coach Joe Judge said. “He had a heck of a game today. “I am going to leave that right there… Daniel Jones is our quarterback… I am very proud of how he came down here and prepared throughout the week and performed in that environment against that defense.”

Regarding Barkley, he rushed for 52 yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 74 yards. This was the fourth time Barkley scored rushing and receiving touchdowns in the same game. Barkley’s 126 yards from scrimmage marked his 21st game with more than 100 yards.

Barkley, who’s coming back from a torn ACL, was excited to get the win and feels his knee is getting stronger.

“We haven’t won a game all year, so for us to come out here and win a game in a tough environment against a great defense and a great team is great,” Barkley said. “We have been in a lot of close game. We have to keep going. We have to keep working every day. We have to keep believing in each other and get ready for next week. Personally, it helps with your confidence to make plays out there, especially late in the game. It feels good to get the win. It definitely builds my confidence up. Each week I keep feeling my knee getting better and better. I just have to keep trusting the process and keep going.”

Giants head coach Joe Judge added about Barkley: “He’s gone through a lot of things, but he’s always kept the team first in everything he’s done, and they see that There’s a reason he was selected as a captain by his teammates and to represent them with how he works and performs on the field. In terms of seeing him have success, it’s collective success. It is everyone’s win. Saquon obviously punched the ball in at the end to close it out. That’s what we wanted, to get the ball back and finish the game out right there. That’s what we were able to do.”

This was a must-win for New York, who had lost two straight games on the final play. Now, they have an opportunity to make a move in the NFC East as they go on the road to battle the 3-1 Cowboys next Sunday.

Watch as Barkley discusses New York’s first victory of the season: