Sep 022020
 
Jon Halapio, New York Giants (September 22, 2019)

Jon Halapio – © USA TODAY Sports

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP MEDIA PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media and team sources:

  • Giants had a light, half-speed practice today in preparation for Thursday’s afternoon scrimmage. It appears much of the emphasis was on situational and game-ending scenarios.

INJURY REPORT…
Safety Xavier McKinney (left foot fracture), linebacker David Mayo (torn meniscus in left knee), wide receiver Golden Tate (hamstring?), and linebacker Tae Crowder (unknown) did not practice.

ROSTER MOVES – GIANTS RE-SIGN JON HALAPIO…
The New York Giants have re-signed Jon Halapio, who the team chose not to tender as a restricted free agent before free agency began, effectively making him an unrestricted free agent. The team also signed wide receiver Johnny Holton and long snapper Carson Tinker. To make room for these players, the Giants waived/injured safety Jaquarius Landrews (neck) and tight end Rysen John (hamstring), and waived offensive lineman Jackson Dennis.

Head Coach Joe Judge said bringing back Halapio was not an indication that the team is unhappy with their current centers. “Absolutely not,” said Judge. “It’s just an opportunity for us to add another good player to the roster. It gives us some depth and versatility inside. Jon’s a guy who can play center, but he can play guard as well. Again, it’s about position flexibility inside. You can only keep so many guys on the roster. The more players you keep inside that can play multiple positions, it gives you strength as a team right there. So no, that’s no indication on anything we feel about our current players on our roster. I have a lot of confidence in Nick (Gates) and Spencer (Pulley) and Tyler (Haycraft). They’ve done a really good job. Shane’s (Lemieux) coming along. We’re working on developing him in time. He’s been playing a lot more at guard due to our current situation, but he’s working as a center as well. We’re developing all of our guys the best we can at multiple positions.”

Halapio was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He has bounced around different leagues and teams including the Patriots (2014), Boston Brawlers (2014), Denver Broncos (2014–2015), Arizona Cardinals (2015), Brooklyn Bolts (2015), and Patriots (2016) again. The Giants signed Halapio to their Practice Squad in 2016 and 2017. The Giants then added him to the 53-man roster in October 2017 and he played in 10 games, starting the last six at right guard. Halapio won the starting center job in 2018, but was lost early when he was placed on Injured Reserve in September 2018 after breaking his ankle and lower leg in the second game of the season. An underwhelming and disappointing season by Halapio in 2019 was unfortunately punctuated by him suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon in the final moments of the season finale. In all, Halapio started 15 games, missing one start with a hamstring injury. He struggled as both a run and pass blocker manning the pivot position.

The 29-year old, 6’3”, 190-pound Holton was originally signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Raiders (2016-2018), Philadelphia Eagles (2019), and Pittsburgh Steelers (2019). The Steelers cut Holton in March 2020. In four seasons, Holton has played in 48 regular-season games with four starts, accruing just 14 receptions for 273 yards and three touchdowns. He does have limited experience as a kickoff and punt returner and is a good gunner on special teams.

The 30-year old, 6’0”, 237-pound Tinker was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2013 NFL Draft. He played in 69 regular-season games for the Jaguars from 2013-2018. The Jaguars cut him in March 2019 and he did not play that year.

Landrews and John were signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. Dennis was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. The Cardinals cut him in July and the Giants signed him in August.

GENERAL MANAGER DAVE GETTLEMAN…
The transcript of Dave Gettleman’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
New York Giants President/CEO John Mara will address the press on Thursday morning. The Giants hold their second scrimmage at MetLife Stadium at 1:00PM with Head Coach Joe Judge and select players addressing the media after the scrimmage.

Apr 172020
 
Dave Gettleman, New York Giants (November 10, 2019)

Dave Gettleman – © USA TODAY Sports

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DAVE GETTLEMAN AND CHRIS PETTIT PRE-DRAFT PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman and Director of College Scout Chris Pettit addressed the media by conference call on Friday in advance of next week’s NFL Draft.

Dave Gettleman: Good afternoon. Hope everybody is still well, safe and healthy, including your family. As I spoke to you guys a few days ago and as I said then, the process we have is really going well. Everybody’s really strapped it on and just done a great job. Our IT people Justin Warren, (Vice President of Information Technology) and his group, and Ty Siam (Football Operations/Analytics), Ed Triggs (Football Operations Coordinator) and Chris Pettit and the college scouts. Everybody has really chipped in and done a great job. Of course with Joe (Judge) and his staff as well. So we’re really pleased with where we’re at in the process. We’re starting to tidy things up and put a bow on it. Like I said, everybody’s putting in the old man’s work. We’re certainly going to be prepared. For what it’s worth, I’m on with Chris Pettit our Director of College Scouting.

Chris Pettit: Hey guys, thanks for having me. I just wanted to give a thank you, since I didn’t get to speak to you the other day, our First Responders, our medical professionals, all the essential workers who have helped us out at this time. Also, just want to thank, as Dave mentioned, our IT department, our trainers, our coaches, our scouts, have just been outstanding to set us up for next week. Really thankful for everybody.

Q: Given the impact that COVID-19 has had with cancelling pro days and all of that stuff, how much more valuable was it to you that Joe (Judge) hired a bunch of coaches from the college ranks and they have that vast network, not just the guys they coached but the guys that they coached against?
Gettleman: I’ll tell you what, it’s a big help. If you think about it, we hired (Former University of Alabama Running Backs Coach) Burton Burns, Joe hired Burton to coach the running backs and he’s been at Alabama, so just think about all of the insight we get into the ‘Bama kids. Obviously a number of our coaches are coming directly from the Southeastern Conference. So, you’ve got great contacts. It’s very helpful, it gives you insight, all of the information. Our college scouts do a great job of digging out information, so between the information the college scouts have, and Burton, and fellas like that that we’ve hired that are coming from college, it sure really gives us a good in.

Q: Last time we spoke to you about the draft was probably back at the combine, you spoke about how you’re open for business and considering trading back. I’m wondering with the logistics that are going to be in place on Thursday and the craziness and everything like that, how does that impact trade talks? Would you need to have a deal in place before you get to the first round, probably more than other years where you could do it on the fly?
Gettleman: I think really, obviously, we’re sitting there with the fourth pick in the draft. It’s got to happen pretty soon. I’m going to make calls and anybody that wants to move up I’m going to say, listen, we don’t have much time, we can’t fool around, and I’d like to get the parameters of deals in place, of the deal in place before we get on the clock. That would be the best thing. You know the NFL is going to have a mock draft on Monday, I’m sure you guys are aware of that. So, that’ll be an interesting thing to see how it works. Again, the biggest piece is making sure that we, meaning the Giants, are coordinated in how we’re going to approach the trade process. You know, we’ll have two veteran guys on it, so I think we’ll be fine. Obviously once you hit the third round you only have five minutes. It’s going to be tight to try to do that, to try to trade back or trade up. I think what’s going to happen, what this is going to force everybody to do, is do deals before their pick is up. So, let’s say for the sake of discussion, someone calls, one team calls another team and says, “I want to trade up.” They’ll make a deal off the clock and then if the guy is there for the team that wants to move up, then they’ll consummate the trade. So ,I think a lot of it’s going to be done ahead of time.

Q: I’m sure you’re made aware, obviously, that you’ve never traded back but you’ve traded up in the past. I’m curious, when you’ve made those trades do you use the Jimmy Johnson chart or do you guys have your own version of that? What do you use as a tool to determine what’s a good value in a trade?
Gettleman: You know, it’s funny. It’s one of those if you think about, if you and I walk into a dealership and buy the same car, we’re going to pay two different prices. But, if we feel good about it, who cares what you paid and you don’t care what I paid. The Jimmy Johnson chart, people have moved off of it to a certain degree. A little bit here, a little bit there. So, when you talk to someone, it’s one of those deals where you say to yourself, “Why don’t we all agree on one chart?” That might make too much sense. So, there’s three or four different variations and what you do is, if someone calls you up and their chart doesn’t match yours and they make an offer and you don’t think it’s a good deal, you don’t do it. It’s that simple. If both groups are motivated, you’ll come to some kind of conclusion.

Q: What is your Thursday night going to look like? Obviously you’re going to be home, there’s no one else around you from the Giants…you have to coordinate all of this, right? Can you take us through step-by-step, do you get the first word and do you then open it up to Dave and to Kevin (Abrams) and to the scouts and to Joe? How do you coordinate all of this?
Pettit: Really, everything is going to be done and treated the same way that we’ve done it our last two drafts together. Really nothing is different, just we’re not in the same room. We’ve kind of gone over some scenarios already, we’re going to be set up in different Zoom rooms and we’ll be able to have the same conversations we’ve had every year in the past just that we’re doing it from our homes, that’s the only thing different. But, everyone’s going to have the same voice that they’ve always had. It’s been a good process. We’ve taken some steps, especially this last week, honing it to getting it right to where we feel comfortable to make the right decision in the same way we would if we were sitting in our office in East Rutherford.

Q: I know you’ve rethought a couple of things you used to think, like negotiating contracts in season. I’m wondering if you’ve given any thought to rethinking the best player available. This is a hypothetical, if a guy is a 98 (grade) on your board, is he the pick? Or if a guy is a 96 (grade) but at a more valuable position of need can he be the pick? Will you consider need a little bit more than you have in the past?
Gettleman: When you’re splitting hairs, it’s okay to take the 96 instead of the 98. Because really what you’re doing is you’re splitting hairs. It’s when you have a 98 and then you’ve got an 88. That’s not splitting hairs anymore. Even if the 88 is the bigger position of need, once you start reaching you’ve created issues for yourself. Part of it too, you can never have too many great players at one position. That doesn’t scare me, it doesn’t bother me. What you’re trying to do is build the best roster you can. So, when you’re talking a 96 to a 98, that to me is not a big deal. It’s when you start dropping, when you have precipitous drops in your evaluation, that’s when you get into trouble.

Q: There is usually a top tier of players, around where is that point that you guys think there is a drop off in this draft?
Gettleman: This is a pretty good draft. It really is. There’s a couple of positions, there’s a few positions that are really thick with players. You can’t put a number on that. Are you asking me, does it really drop off after 15 players, does it really drop off after 25 players, I can’t really speak to that. But, I just know that it’s a good draft and really and truly as we’ve set our board just taking a look at it, we’ve got about the same number of players in every round that we had in last year’s draft, which was a hell of a draft. You can’t say that if you’re not picking in the top 15 you’re in trouble. You can’t say that.

Q: Is there a point at the top where those guys are so good that maybe there’s a group of five, six, eight or ten that are significantly graded than everybody else?
Gettleman: No, we’ve got a pretty good first round in terms of a spread. It’s a good group. It’s a really good group. So, no there’s not. There’s not two players, ten players…I can’t give you a number.

Q: I’m curious your thoughts overall on the offensive tackle class and when you’re evaluating these guys how much versatility plays into that? Does it matter that a guy is able to play both left and right or are you just looking to try and come away with the best guy at that position?
Gettleman: Well, I think that versatility certainly doesn’t hurt. But, it’s a thick group. I think I mentioned it on Monday. There are tackles throughout the draft, throughout the vertical…we call it our vertical. There’s a lot of talent there. Is it helpful if a guy played both? Absolutely. Is it fatal if he’s only played one? Certainly not. If you have a tackle need and need meets value, then you know you work through it. You say to yourself, “This is a good tackle,” whether he’s a left or a right and you take him. It’s certainly no different than any other position. If he’s a good corner, whether he’s a right or a left, a good linebacker, whatever — you just take the guy. So to answer your question, versatility is really a plus but it’s not fatal if a guy is not.

Q: Where does the final decision lie? Is it you? If the coaches want somebody and you want somebody else, how does that get resolved?
Gettleman: It’s a New York Giants decision. That’s what it is. It’s completely collaborative. We just talk it through. That’s all there is to it. We just talk through it. This is my eighth, ninth draft, and I’ve never had a big difference of opinion with a head coach. We talk it through, we discuss it. It’s about coming to a consensus. We’re not arm wrestling to decide who gets their way. None of that stuff. It’s a consensus, it’s a collaboration, and that’s the best situation you can have.

Q: Should I assume that even now, a week before the draft, that most of you have a similar thought of where that first-round pick is going to go?
Gettleman: We’re still discussing it. We’re still discussing.

Q: John Harbaugh a couple weeks ago expressed some concern about security because of the virtual nature of the draft. Do you feel like you have things in place where you won’t have to worry about any hacking or any unwanted behavior from outside the building or outside the organization?
Gettleman: I believe so. Justin Warren and Ty Siam, they’re all over it. I really believe we’ll be fine.

Q: We know how much work you guys put in to the offseason schedule and trying to figure out which pro days, who’s going to go and where the scouts are going to end up on campus and who’s coming into the building. Have you been able to replicate whatever research or evaluation process you would have from that perspective, with the video conferencing and any calls you may make, as Joe (Judge) mentioned the other day tapping into resources that maybe even more so than you’d normally use? Are you able to get out of the current situation what you would have gotten out of the entire month of March with the way you traditionally set it up?
Pettit: I think so. For the most part, we have. I was actually down at Clemson when we got called back. I started thinking in my head, ‘If we don’t get back out, there are things we’ll miss out on.’ We did such a good job throughout the fall and the All-Star games and the Combine interviewing and testing a lot of players at those venues. We were able to get a lot of that information which you get in the fall. What we did was we gathered the scouts together and we said, ‘Hey, use this time now, we’re not out on the road, use this time to go back and watch more film, watch the games you didn’t watch, watch them again. Call the schools, call the players. Be really thorough. Now you’re not going to have the opportunity to be on campus, so maybe call the academic people one more time. Maybe they’ll give you a different opinion.’ So, we really worked the whole fall process over again, and our scouts were great doing that. We were able to dig up some more information. The only thing really that you miss is just those small interactions that you might have being with a player personally, whether it’s in our building or just on campus. There are a lot of times you’re going to meet with a player privately, you’re walking on campus with him and you can get little interactions that way that mean something. That’s really the only thing we lost. I do think this time, because we were so prepared through the All-Star (games) and Combine, like I said, interviewing and testing these guys, I think we’re pretty much on par where we would be any other year.

Q: Regarding players who at the combine either didn’t work out due to injuries or choice, or some of these smaller school guys who maybe weren’t at the All-Star games, can you just speak to what kind of resources or if you’ve had to devote extra resources towards getting information on those guys?
Pettit: The biggest part of our evaluation, obviously, is from the tape. We always use the pro days and the Combine as just a supplement, another spoke in the wheel, just to validate what we thought that they showed on tape. The players that didn’t show up at those places and the pro days we couldn’t get to, the players have done a good job and the scouts have done a good job of reaching out. We’ll get videos of them doing some pro days but it’s not the same. Again, we have to go back to what we really base majority of our evaluation on, and that’s the tape. That’s why we’ve spent the last month really going back and digging into the film, looking at it from a different lens maybe, and that’s kind of helped get some of that information for us.

Q: You talked often in the past about fixing the offensive line, fixing the offensive line. Do you feel a particular urgency or pressure this year to come out of this draft with one or two offensive linemen who can help pretty much right away with Daniel Jones and Saquon (Barkley) and this team?
Gettleman: Well again, you know my theory. It’s very, very difficult for Saquon to run the ball if he doesn’t have holes. It’s going to be difficult for Daniel to throw the ball when he’s on his back. We’ll continue to build the offensive line. Is it a pressure point? To a degree. I’m not going to deny that. But it’s about getting the right guy. It’s about not panicking. Like I said before, we think Nick Gates has a bright future as an offensive lineman. Spencer Pulley has done good work for us at center. (Jon) Halapio is coming back, hopefully he’ll be ready to go and recovered from the Achilles by June. We’re just going to keep working at it. Joe and I are of the same mentality that really and truly, the offensive line sets the tone for the team. It really does. I think of all the teams that I’ve been with that have gone to Super Bowls, the offensive lines were the tone-setters. You think of the offensive lines in 2007 and 2011 when we beat the Patriots, those groups set the tone. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we replicate that.

Q: Do you still think of Nate Solder as your left tackle period?
Gettleman: The bottom line is, and Joe said it, we’re going to bring in people to compete. Everybody has to compete. Again, my thought process is we’re not afraid to have too many good players at one position to answer your question. Joe knows Nate which is helpful. They have a relationship, they have a history. But we’re going to bring in the best players. If they’re at a position where there’s an incumbent starter, then he’s going to compete.

Q: From your years of doing this, how unique is the Isaiah Simmons evaluation given all of the different positions he plays? Does that make it more difficult?
Gettleman: What’s happening now is there are a lot of college players like that. There are a lot of guys that because the college game is so different, they take a young man with a unique skillset and they use him in a variety of ways that maybe hasn’t happened before. There are a number of guys that are being used like this. A lot of them are mid-level defenders, linebackers. You’ve seen they’re mixing and matching their defensive linemen in a three-point but also standing up as a two-point. There’s a lot of versatility going on, a lot of different ways that people are using players. It’s not standard. It’s not what I grew up with, that’s for sure. You’re seeing it more. It’s up to us to figure out how that player who’s been in what you’re saying to me is an unconventional position, it’s up to us to figure out how he fits the New York Football Giants.

Q: Aside from the technology, aside from the fact that you’re home and dealing with the technology, with all the things that you guys have missed with pro days and all that, is this more of an old school draft in terms of the way you guys have to prepare for it? Does your experience and the experience of your scouting staff really help in that regard?
Gettleman: It’s funny, I said that exact thing a couple of times. This is like back in the late 70s when they drafted with absolutely no contact with players. I think at the end of the day, it is a little bit old school because you’re not getting the personal touchpoints that we used to have. It is a little bit old school. I just think that really and truly at the end of the day, it’s really all about what the kid does between the white lines. It’s not about running around in your underwear or running a 40-yard dash or doing the vertical jump or whatever. It’s really about putting a lid on and playing ball. It is a little bit more old school like that. That’s not all bad.

Q: What’s the level of interest on the fourth pick from other teams? Is there any chance that teams are kind of waiting to see what Detroit does, since that could be a big factor on how desirable you think that pick will be?
Gettleman: We’re still a week out. Really and truly, we’re still a week out. We’ll see what happens.

Q: How strong is your desire to possibly make a trade though? Is it something you’re actively looking for? Or are you just willing to listen and if something happens to be of interest at that point, are you willing to make a move?
Gettleman: It’s something I would very seriously entertain.

Q: We’ve talked to you the last couple of years in terms of what you’ve done in the top 10, how you feel in your scouting and your evaluation of Saquon and then Daniel last year, and when you knew that was the guy. Obviously, I understand there’s still a consensus to be made in-house, but in your mind on the Friday before the draft, do you have the guy you want to pound the table for and convince everybody else? Or are you still going through in your mind who should be the pick for the New York Giants?
Gettleman: We’re still working through it.

Q: Even you? I know the whole group is, but even you?
Gettleman: Yes, I’m still working through it. At the end of the day, I have to think long-term and short-term. At the end of the day, the decision we make will be what’s best for the Giants, and it will be a collective, collaborative decision. 

Apr 132020
 
Dave Gettleman, New York Giants (February 25, 2020)

Dave Gettleman – © USA TODAY Sports

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APRIL 13, 2020 DAVE GETTLEMAN CONFERENCE CALL…
New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman and Assistant General Manager Kevin Abrams addressed the media by conference call on Monday.

Dave Getttleman opening statement: First off, I hope everybody is well. I hope your families are safe and healthy. I also hope you were able to celebrate Easter and Passover. On behalf of the Giants, I would like to send out our sincerest condolences to the Causi family. That is a tragedy and I am sure it is affecting a lot of you folks. I didn’t know Anthony, but I know everybody spoke very highly of him, so I get that. Despite what’s been going on, we have started our draft meetings. We’ve had minimal issues moving forward and right now we are on schedule with that. I was told we are going to talk on Friday about the draft. Pat (Hanlon) said today’s call was about unrestricted free agency and how we are currently operating. That’s the impression I had.

Kevin Abrams opening statement: First of all, I just want to reiterate our thoughts are with the Causi family. I’m sure a lot of you were very close with him, our condolences. Every day we are appreciative and supportive of all the people on the front lines during these unique days. I don’t know how many of you live in Manhattan, but I do. Probably the most profound moment of every day is at 7 o’clock when everyone opens their windows and pays tribute to everyone in the health care industry fighting this battle for us. I hope you are all well.

Q: Why the franchise tag for Leonard Williams instead of the cheaper transition tag? Given the 16.2-million-dollar cap number, was there any thought to letting him test free agency and making an offer that way.
Gettleman: Really what it came down to was we felt good about our cap space. We felt for what Leonard brings to the table and for our team, it was more prudent to put the franchise tag on him.

Q: Any thought that when we get back to football Leonard not signing his franchise tag will be a distraction?
Gettleman: I think we’ll be okay. I always think about bad things because, in my opinion, one of the biggest responsibilities I have is to eliminate distractions and let the coaches coach and the players play. You can’t guarantee anything in this life, but we have gotten to know Leonard really well and I feel really comfortable with the decision.

Q: In the past you have brought players in with ties to your days in Carolina. Most of the free agents brought in this year have ties to the organization. Was that by design given the COVID-19 situation and not being able to bring guys in to interview them like you normally would?
Gettleman: A little bit of all that. There is a little bit of a lean towards people you know in free agency. Times have changed. I know back in the day in free agency, you had time to bring a guy in. You could spend a day with him to get to know him. Now we are speed dating and the decision happens before you can get a guy in in the building, before you can get a physical and that’s even before COVID-19. I don’t think it’s any more sensitive, but I do know for us a big concern was the medical piece. We are making decisions and you are building your roster. Just think about what happens if you sign a high-dollar guy and he doesn’t pass his physical, now where are you? Now you have spent in free agency and now the draft and you think you have your team set and you put together what you think is a good roster. Then all of the sudden, a guy doesn’t pass his physical. The guys we signed we felt we got good value and we are very pleased with the group.

Q: Those who haven’t had physicals, if they don’t pass, how does that work?
Abrams: The guys that are new to the club that haven’t passed their physicals yet haven’t taken them. Once everything resumes and life is back to normal and doctor availability and travel restrictions are lifted, we will get those physicals done. If they do not pass, they will be free agents again.

Q: What went into changing your bonus structure this offseason where you went with the roster bonuses instead of big signing bonuses?
Abrams: The preference is to have flat cap counts in our contracts and to limit the amount of amortized bonuses for obvious reasons. When we started the free agency process, wherever possible, we were going to try to use roster bonuses with a lump sum in year one as opposed to spreading out signing bonuses over the life of the contract. As we had some success with getting to agreements with a few more players than maybe what we thought was realistic at the beginning, in an effort to keep cap room that we wanted to have to operate throughout the offseason and training camp, we decided to push a little bit of the roster bonus money into signing bonuses. We are pretty happy with the structures we’ve had with these deals in respect to our future caps.

Q: What are your feelings on your offensive tackle situation? Do you feel good with Nate Solder at left tackle and can he move to the right side? Where do you stand on that coming out of free agency with not making a huge splash signing there?
Gettleman: At the end of the day, we signed Cameron Fleming. He was with Dallas before and obviously there is that connection and with the Patriots before, there’s a double connection. We have faith in Nick Gates, the kid we signed two years ago, a free agent we signed out of Nebraska. He missed his rookie year on IR, but last year he made a lot of progress. We are excited about him. Nate had a rough year last year, nobody is denying, and certainly he is not. I made the statement to people after we signed him in 2018 and after the 2018 season no one was talking about Nate Solder. He had a tough year. Part of the unrestricted free agency piece is we are also looking at the draft, so you kind of marry the two. We felt with the depth of the tackle class in the draft, we just felt this was the best way for us to go.

Q: How do you feel about where you are in terms of edge rushers?
Gettleman: A lot of people were raised with the 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl teams where we could consistently apply pressure with four. That is the goal, that’s what you want. You can’t manufacture it and you can’t overpay for it. What it really comes down to is it doesn’t matter who gets the sacks, it’s about how many sacks you actually get. It really is about how much pressure you apply. Some of this is going to have to come through scheme. Obviously, we haven’t gone through the draft yet. With where we’re at, would I not want two defensive ends that are 25 sacks a year guys? Who doesn’t? We are not in that position right now, so we will just keep building it.

Q: When you look at your defense and the signings of Bradberry, Martinez and Fackrell, do you think you made a quantum leap forward to your defense? Do you think these three guys are big impact guys or is there a lot more work to be done on defense?
Gettleman: There is still more work to be done, we are thrilled with those three guys. We also signed Austin Johnson, another defensive lineman. We are very pleased with where we are at, (Blake) Martinez gives us a guy that has played in the system for Pat Graham and will get us lined up. I think that this scheme is going to fit him better. Everybody knows I drafted James (Bradberry) when I was in Carolina. He gives you a big, long body that has played against number ones. He has the mindset, he’s not shy and the moment is not too big for him. (Kyler) Fackrell, two years ago, had double digit sacks and Green Bay went out and bought two high sack guys and he became a rotational part-time player. We feel good about that. You have to keep building, we are excited about the draft, there are some good players there. We are just going to continue to get better, nothing is ever done.

Q: There are some guys left out there still on the market that have proven to be pretty good pass rushers. Jadeveon Clowney, Markus Golden, two big notables. When you say ‘we’re not in position now,’ is that a financial thing? Is that a preference thing? Explain a little bit more why you said that.
Gettleman: Well, part of the tight rope that I walk on is short-term and long-term. Part of the long-term is we have some good, young players right now. We’ve got Dalvin Tomlinson, (Evan) Engram and (Jabrill) Peppers. We have to make decisions on them. They’re some good, young players. After another year, you guys are going to be banging on me about Saquon (Barkley). As I used to tell the guys down in Charlotte, when you wouldn’t spend all your money in free agency, I’d say, ‘Listen, you’re going to kill me about this? Well, you’re going to double kill me when we don’t have money to extend Luke Kuechly or Cam Newton or whomever.’ It’s a collaborative decision we make as we talk about how we’re moving forward. Right now, this is the decision we made. We’re just going to move forward the way we are now.

Q: You talked about the contracts and the physicals. If a guy is jogging or running and tears his Achilles, how does that work with guys and their contracts? Is there something in there that protects the player? Or is that just up to both sides on how to proceed from there?
Abrams: Unfortunately, it’s the same risk as you always have this time of year. The players that are working out on their own, they run the risk of injury, which isn’t protected because it wouldn’t be considered a football injury. Unfortunately, that risk is just extended this year because of the inability to have players come in and work at our facility under our supervision.

Q: Obviously, things right now are very different in how you can operate. But other than operating remotely, how much have you had to adjust? Can you give us an idea of are your days just filled with FaceTime, Zoom meetings, phone calls? What’s the process been like for both of you?
Abrams: Yeah, we’ve done our best to mimic business as usual. Obviously, it’s not. But without going into details about what technologies we’re using, I don’t think our IT department would appreciate that, we’ve tried to mimic how our meetings typically operate, both for the coaches and for our scouting meetings right now. The fact that it’s all been virtual is obviously the biggest difference. But the dialogue, the conversation, the agenda, the itineraries for the meetings go as always. I don’t think we’ve missed a beat. A lot of that goes to Justin Warren in our IT department, Ty Siam in Football Tech, Eddie Triggs is running our operations. It hasn’t been perfectly smooth, but it’s been smoother than anyone could have expected. Whatever hiccups we’ve encountered, I think everyone has shown patience and the ability to adjust so we can get to operating the way that we need to. It’s been pretty exceptional so far, and a lot of people deserve a lot of credit. People that wouldn’t normally get recognized.

Gettleman: Let me follow up on that a little bit. As Kevin said, we’re really making it work. One of the exciting things for me as an old man working with these young guys and the technology, they’re really thoughtful and intentional about it. Really, Chris Pettit has done a great job, our Director of College Scouting, in terms of coordinating all this, working with Ty and Ed Triggs and Justin Warren, has just done yeoman’s work with us. We’re moving along. Listen, there are people in a lot worse situations than us. We’re thankful and we’re moving along. We’re going to get this right.

Q: I just wanted to go back to the Leonard Williams thing one more time. I’m just curious, given the cap number at $16.2 million, what is your guys’ desire and confidence that you’ll be able to get a long-term deal done, or if the plan is to just let him play on the tag?
Gettleman: You know, the bottom line is contracts get done when they’re supposed to get done. So, we’ll just move along. You guys know I don’t discuss contracts, I don’t discuss timing, I don’t discuss anything. They get done when they’re supposed to get done.

Q: I know you said before that ideally you’d like to approach free agency to fill needs on the roster so when you move to the draft you can draft the best player available. I know we’re not talking draft. I’m just curious if you think you accomplished that in free agency to position yourself to draft best player available compared to having to draft for need?
Gettleman: Yeah, I think we’ve done a good job. It’s not perfect, but I’m pleased with where we’re at going into the draft.

Q: I’m curious if you can just talk about what you think the one hour FaceTimes with prospects gives you that maybe you didn’t have via the traditional way and what you’re missing from the traditional facility visit or workout? These one hour calls, have they been beneficial or are you missing a lot?
Gettleman: I’ll go first. They’ve been pretty beneficial because again, it is FaceTiming, so thank God, you can see the guys. I’m a city kid and a big believer in body language and all this and that. It’s okay. It’s not great, it’s not perfect, it’s okay. For me, what we miss is watching them interact, the 30 visit guys, watching them in your facility. That’s what you miss out on. By not having pro days, you also miss that personal contact. Watching guys among their peers and how they operate, how they’re received. That tells a lot when you just watch a kid in those circumstances. Obviously, when we would go to workouts, a lot of times the night before, our coach and scout that would be at the pro day would take one, two or three of the players out to dinner and have some conversation that way. We’re losing the personal touchpoints. We have the visual touchpoint, but we’re really missing out on the personal touchpoint, when you can smell or feel a guy.

Abrams: Nothing to add. We’re doing the best we can with what we have. You do miss out on some of the depth of the interactions. But I think between the coaches’ interactions with the players, and the rest of us who have had opportunities to speak and see these guys, you do your best to get to know them as well as you can, knowing that it’s always going to be virtual. You’re not going to have them in your presence.

Q:  The question you were obviously asked about tackle earlier with Nate, you mentioned Gates. I’m just curious where you stand right now at center? We know the situation with (Jon) Halapio and then, obviously, Spencer Pulley is on the roster. I’m just curious, did you guys look into doing something in free agency and where does it stand? I would imagine that’s a pretty big piece that you right now have concerns about, or at least are looking at seriously?
Gettleman: That’s a fair question. It really is. We won’t know about Pio until June with the Achilles. Spencer obviously has played a ton of football. We have a lot of confidence in him. We’re working that group over pretty good in the draft. We’re always going to continue to upgrade. I’m not afraid to draft over a guy. It’s a fair question. We’re going to look at it.

Q: Is Gates an option there?
Gettleman: You know, just for what it’s worth, we’ve talked about Nick doing that. He did do some of that last year in practice, so it’s not completely new. Nick is smart. The thing you love about Nick is just how tough he is, because it’s a fist fight in there. There’s no doubt about that. History tells you that the toughness of your team is really, really indicated by the toughness of your offensive line. So, we’re always looking for that kind of piece. Nick would be in consideration at center, absolutely. 

Feb 252020
 
Joe Judge, New York Giants (February 25, 2020)

Joe Judge – © USA TODAY Sports

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DAVE GETTLEMAN ADDRESSES MEDIA AT NFL COMBINE…
New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman addressed the media at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana on Tuesday.

JOE JUDGE ADDRESSES MEDIA AT NFL COMBINE…
New York Giants Head Coach Joe Judge addressed the media at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana on Tuesday.

GIANTS CUT TWO TIGHT ENDS…
The Giants have cut tight ends Scott Simonson and Isaiah Searight, both of whom were scheduled to become free agents in a few weeks.

Simonson was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Oakland Raiders after the 2014 NFL Draft. Simonson spent time with the Raiders (2014-2015) and Carolina Panthers (2015-2017) before signing with the Giants in June 2018. He had his best season with the Giants in 2018, paying in all 16 games with four starts, finishing with nine catches for 86 yards and one touchdown. The Giants placed Simonson on Injured Reserve in August 2019 with an ankle injury, cut him from Injured Reserve in September, and re-signed him to the 53-man roster in November. He was placed on Injured Reserve again in late December with a concussion. He played in five games in 2019 with one start, catching just two passes for 11 yards.

The Giants waived/injured Searight in August 2019 with a hip injury and then placed him on Injured Reserve. Searight originally signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2019 NFL Draft as an undrafted rookie free agent but was waived/injured in May with a hamstring injury. The Giants then signed him in July.

REPORT – GIANTS ADD ANOTHER COACH…
The Daily News is reporting that the Giants have hired Amos Jones as an advisory assistant to Head Coach Joe Judge. The 60-year old Jones has coached at the high school, college, and pro levels since 1981, his most recent experience serving as a special teams coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-2012), Arizona Cardinals (2013-2017), Cleveland Browns (2018), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019).

REPORT – GIANTS FIRE TWO SCOUTS…
InsideTheLeague.com is reporting that the Giants have fired two of their area scouts, Ryan Jones and Donnie Etheridge. Jone had been with the team since 2000 and Etheridge since 2001.

ARTICLES…

Feb 052020
 
Marc Colombo, Dallas Cowboys (November 5, 2018)

Marc Colombo – © USA TODAY Sports

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NEW YORK GIANTS ANNOUNCE ASSISTANT COACHES…
The New York Giants have officially announced the team’s assistant coaches. The team’s coordinators – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham, Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett, and Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey – were announced on January 17th.

“The first thing I was prioritizing was good coaches who had a deep concern for the players that they were going to coach,” new Head Coach Joe Judge said in the team’s press release. “It has to start with the relationship from the coach to the player and understanding that we’re working together. Next thing I was prioritizing was good teachers. We had to find guys who can paint that mental picture for a player and find a way to tap into how they learn and get the most out of them. To me, it’s a big trust factor with the guys I have on the staff. I have a personal relationship with a lot of these guys, professional relationships with nearly all of them. Guys who I have not worked with directly, I’ve competed against, I’ve known for some time. I’ve more than done my research on everybody on this staff, including the guys I’ve worked with. No stone has been unturned. I’m very excited about the group we have in here. I know they’re going to bring a lot to this organization. I know they’re going to be a great asset to the players they’re going to coach.”

The other 17 members of Judge’s 20-member staff are:

Quarterbacks Coach Jerry Schuplinski

  • 2020-Present: Quarterbacks Coach, New York Giants
  • 2019: Assistant Quarterbacks Coach, Miami Dolphins
  • 2016-2018: Assistant Quarterbacks Coach, New England Patriots
  • 2013-2015: Coaching Assistant, New England Patriots
  • 2007-2012: Linebackers/Special Teams Coach, Case Western Reserve University
  • 2002-2006: Head Coach, Trinity High School (Ohio)
  • 2000-2001: Running Backs/Special Teams Coach, John Carroll University
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: John Carroll University
  • Born: April 4, 1977

“Jerry is an incredible teacher,” said Judge. “He has done a phenomenal job of developing young quarterbacks in this league. He simplifies the game so the quarterback can play fast in terms of understanding our scheme and analyzing the opponent’s defense.”

Running Backs Coach Burton Burns

  • 2020-Present: Running Backs Coach, New York Giants
  • 2018-2019: Assistant Athletic Director for Football, University of Alabama
  • 2007-2017: Running Backs Coach, University of Alabama
  • 1999-2006: Running Backs Coach, Clemson University
  • 1994-1998: Assistant Coach, Tulane University
  • 1986-1993: Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator, Saint Augustine High School (New Orleans, LA)
  • 1981-1985: Assistant Coach, Southern University
  • 1980: Assistant Coach, Booker T. Washington High School (New Orleans, LA)
  • 1977-1979: Assistant Coach, Saint Augustine High School (New Orleans, LA)
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: Fullback, University of Nebraska (1971-1975)
  • Born: October 27, 1952

“I’ve worked with Burton, so I knew first-hand the impact he has on the players he coaches,” Judge said. “He’s coached a number of great backs, he’s coached on a lot of championship teams, and he knows how to get the most out of his players. He’s tough. That’s one thing you’re going to find out about Burton right away. He’s tough. He’s hard-nosed, he coaches tough, he demands his players to play tough. But he has as deep a care for the players he coaches as anybody out there. They respond to him because they know he’s in a foxhole with them. I’m excited to have Burton here, very excited to have Burton here. I know he’s looking forward to working with the guys on the roster.”

Wide Receivers Coach Tyke Tolbert

  • 2018-Present: Wide Receivers Coach, New York Giants
  • 2011-2017: Wide Receivers Coach, Denver Broncos
  • 2010: Wide Receivers Coach, Carolina Panthers
  • 2004-2009: Wide Receivers Coach, Buffalo Bills
  • 2003: Wide Receivers Coach, Arizona Cardinals
  • 2002: Tight Ends Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, University of Florida
  • 1999-2001: Wide Receivers Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • 1998: Tight Ends Coach, Auburn University
  • 1995-1997: Tight Ends Coach, Northeast Louisiana University
  • 1995: Wide Receivers Coach, Ohio University
  • 1994: Graduate Assistant, Northeast Louisiana University
  • 1994: Graduate Assistant, Louisiana State University
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: Wide Receiver, Louisiana State University (1988-1990)
  • Born: September 15, 1967

“Tyke’s a guy I knew throughout the league from going against him,” Judge said. “He’s a guy that came recommended by a lot of people that I know very personally. But ultimately, the deciding factor on Tyke is you turn his tape on, and his guys play hard, they play fundamentally sound, he’s been able to develop a number of receivers in different systems, and ultimately, the video tapes are what tells you how a guy is coaching.”

Tight Ends Coach Freddie Kitchens

  • 2020-Present: Tight Ends Coach, New York Giants
  • 2019: Head Coach, Cleveland Browns
  • 2018: Offensive Coordinator, Cleveland Browns
  • 2018: Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach, Cleveland Browns
  • 2017: Running Backs Coach, Arizona Cardinals
  • 2013-2016: Quarterbacks Coach, Arizona Cardinals
  • 2007-2012: Tight Ends Coach, Arizona Cardinals
  • 2006: Tight Ends Coach, Dallas Cowboys
  • 2005: Running Backs Coach, Mississippi State University
  • 2004: Tight Ends Coach, Mississippi State University
  • 2001-2003: Running Backs Coach, University of North Texas
  • 2000: Graduate Assistant, Louisiana State University
  • 1999: Running Backs/Tight Ends Coach, Glenville State College
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: Quarterback, University of Alabama (1993-1998)
  • Born: November 29, 1974

“I think any position on offense is good for Freddie,” Judge said. “He’s got a lot of experience at different positions. He’s been head coach, he’s been a coordinator, he’s been a position coach. He sees it through a lot of different perspectives. What I love about Freddie is he brings an element of toughness and discipline to his room. He brings outside the box thinking a lot of times to how he approaches the game from a game plan perspective. I think he’ll be an asset to working with our offensive coaches and developing the game plan throughout the week. But ultimately, I’ve worked with Freddie, I’ve played for Freddie, and I’ve called against Freddie, and I understand what his players are about.”

Offensive Line Coach Marc Colombo

  • 2020-Present: Offensive Line Coach, New York Giants
  • 2018-2019: Offensive Line Coach, Dallas Cowboys
  • 2016-2018: Assistant Offensive Line Coach, Dallas Cowboys
  • Pro Experience: Offensive Tackle, Chicago Bears (2002-2005), Dallas Cowboys (2005-2010), Miami Dolphins (2011)
  • Collegiate Experience: Offensive Tackle, Boston College (1998-2001)
  • Born: October 8, 1978

“Continuity is very important, especially between the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach, that they can be on the same page starting out,” Judge said. “One of the challenges of a new staff is getting on the same page and working through some of the differences that maybe we’ve had from past experiences but making sure we’re working to one goal. I’d say with Marc, the deciding factor wasn’t his past experience with Jason. The deciding factor was he’s a tremendous coach. His body of work as you turn on the tape and watch how his guys play with technique, execution and toughness is ultimately what the deciding factor was.”

Assistant Offensive Line Coach Ben Wilkerson

  • 2018-Present: Assistant Offensive Line Coach, New York Giants
  • 2015-2017: Assistant Offensive Line Coach, Chicago Bears
  • 2014: Assistant Football and Track Coach, North Shore Senior High School (Texas)
  • 2012-2013: Offensive Line Coach, Grambling State University
  • 2011: Offensive Administrative Intern, Louisiana State University
  • 2010: Offensive Graduate Assistant, Louisiana State University
  • Pro Experience: Offensive Lineman, Cincinnati Bengals (2005-2006), Atlanta Falcons (2007-2008), Florida Tuckers (2009)
  • Collegiate Experience: Offensive Lineman, Louisiana State University (2001-2004)
  • Born: November 22, 1982

Senior Offensive Assistant Derek Dooley

  • 2020-Present: Senior Offensive Assistant, New York Giants
  • 2018-2019: Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach, University of Missouri
  • 2013-2017: Wide Receivers Coach, Dallas Cowboys
  • 2010-2012: Head Coach, University of Tennessee
  • 2007-2009: Head Coach, Louisiana Tech University
  • 2005-2006: Tight Ends Coach, Miami Dolphins
  • 2004: Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, Louisiana State University
  • 2003: Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, Louisiana State University
  • 2000-2002: Tight Ends Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, Louisiana State University
  • 1997-1999: Wide Receivers Coach/Co-Recruiting Coordinator, Southern Methodist University
  • 1996: Graduate Assistant, University of Georgia
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: Wide Receiver, University of Virginia (1987-1990)
  • Born: June 10, 1968

Offensive Assistant Stephen Brown

  • 2020-Present: Offensive Assistant, New York Giants
  • 2016-2019: Offensive Assistant, Dallas Cowboys
  • 2013-2014: Assistant to the Head Coach/Special Teams Assistant, Buffalo Bills
  • 2009-2012: Quality Control Coach/Director of Recruiting, Syracuse University
  • 2006-2008: Student Assistant, University of Tennessee
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: None
  • Born: May 3, 1987

Offensive Quality Control Coach Bobby Blick

  • 2020-Present: Offensive Quality Control Coach, New York Giants
  • 2017-2019: Defensive Assistant, New York Giants
  • 2016: Director of Player Personnel, Army
  • 2015: Special Teams Coordinator/Director of Recruiting, Samford University
  • 2014: Tight Ends/Slot Receivers Coach, Samford University
  • 2014: Special Teams Quality Control Coach, Georgia Tech
  • 2011-2013: Tight Ends/Running Backs Coach, Elon University
  • 2008-2010: Offensive Graduate Assistant, North Carolina State University
  • 2004-2007: Undergraduate Assistant, North Carolina State University
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: None
  • Born: September 8, 1984

Defensive Line Coach Sean Spencer

  • 2020-Present: Defensive Line Coach, New York Giants
  • 2018-2019: Associate Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach, Penn State University
  • 2014-2017: Defensive Line Coach, Penn State University
  • 2011-2013: Defensive Line Coach, Vanderbilt University
  • 2009-2010: Defensive Line Coach, Bowling Green State University
  • 2007-2008: Defensive Line Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, University of Massachusetts
  • 2006: Defensive Line Coach, Hofstra University
  • 2005: Linebackers Coach, Villanova University
  • 2004: Defensive Line Coach, College of the Holy Cross
  • 2001-2003: Defensive Line Coach, University of Massachusetts
  • 2000: Defensive Line Coach, Trinity College
  • 1998-1999: Running Backs Coach, Trinity College
  • 1996-1997: Running Backs Coach, Shippensburg University
  • 1995: Running Backs/Tight Ends Coach, Wesleyan University
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: Safety, Clarion University
  • Born: December 15, 1970

“I’ve known Sean through the business,” Judge said. “The most impressive thing about Sean is the players he’s developed through his time at both Vanderbilt and Penn State, among other stops in his career. Sean has a great energy about him, he has great command within a room, his players respond to him, they play hard and they play fundamentally sound.”

Outside Linebacker Coach/Senior Assistant Bret Bielema

  • 2020-Present: Outside Linebacker Coach/Senior Assistant, New York Giants
  • 2019: Defensive Line Coach, New England Patriots
  • 2018: Consultant to the Head Coach, New England Patriots
  • 2013-2017: Head Coach, University of Arkansas
  • 2006-2012: Head Coach, University of Wisconsin
  • 2004-2005: Defensive Coordinator, University of Wisconsin
  • 1996-2001: Linebackers Coach, University of Iowa
  • 1994-1995: Graduate Assistant, University of Iowa
  • 2002-2003: Co-Defensive Coordinator, Kansas State University
  • Pro Experience: Milwaukee Mustangs (1994)
  • Collegiate Experience: Defensive Lineman, University of Iowa (1989-1992)
  • Born: January 13, 1970

“There’s a lot of things (to like) about Bret,” Judge said. “I think Bret brings a great personality to the group, brings a great perspective on how he sees the game, he’s coached the front for some time, he’s coordinated defenses at a high level. Players respond to Bret in a positive way. He has a great way of teaching, he has a great way of getting the guys motivated, and he gets the most out of his players. He brings experience from the NFL, as well as college, so not only does he understand what’s going on in the league now, he understands what the players coming from college are used to and how to better translate the trends they’re going to see.”

Inside Linebackers Coach Kevin Sherrer

  • 2020-Present: Inside Linebackers Coach, New York Giants
  • 2019: Special Teams Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach, University of Tennessee
  • 2018: Co-Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach, University of Tennessee
  • 2014-2017: Outside Linebackers Coach, University of Georgia
  • 2013: Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach, University of South Alabama
  • 2010-2012: Director of Player Development, University of Alabama
  • 2007-2009: Defensive Coordinator, Hoover High School (Alabama)
  • 2005-2006: Defensive Assistant, Hoover High School (Alabama)
  • 2001-2004: Defensive Backs Coach, Spain Park High School (Alabama)
  • 1998-2000: Graduate Assistant, University of Alabama
  • 1996-1997: Assistant, Tuscaloosa County High School (Alabama)
  • Pro Experience: None
  • Collegiate Experience: Tight End, University of Alabama (1993-1995)
  • Born: March 19, 1973

“Kevin is just an old ball coach,” Judge said. “When I met Kevin, he was coaching at Hoover High School in Alabama. The next year, he was on the staff with us at Alabama. I’ve watched him progress through his career as defensive coordinator at South Alabama, his time in Georgia, his time in Tennessee. I think Kevin is a phenomenal football coach, and he coaches from the ground up with fundamentals, his players play sound and they play hard.”

    Defensive Backs Coach Jerome Henderson

    • 2020-Present: Defensive Backs Coach, New York Giants
    • 2016-2019: Defensive Passing Game Coordinator, Atlanta Falcons
    • 2012-2015: Defensive Backs Coach, Dallas Cowboys
    • 2009-2011: Defensive Backs Coach, Cleveland Browns
    • 2008: Defensive Backs Coach, New York Jets
    • 2007: Assistant Defensive Backs Coach/Director of Player Development, New York Jets
    • 2006: Director of Player Development, New York Jets
    • Pro Experience: Cornerback, New England Patriots (1991-1993), Buffalo Bills (1993-1994), Philadelphia Eagles (1995), New England Patriots (1996), New York Jets (1997-1998)
    • Collegiate Experience: Cornerback, Clemson University (1987-1990)
    • Born: August 8, 1969

    “Jerome has a great resume, he’s coached a lot of good players in a lot of good schemes,” Judge said. “I think the more you check around with Jerome, I talked to guys that he coached, the way they responded to him and the way they respected him in the room definitely said a lot about him as a coach.”

    Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Anthony Blevins

    • 2020-Present: Assistant Defensive Backs Coach, New York Giants
    • 2018-2019: Assistant Special Teams Coach, New York Giants
    • 2013-2017: Coaching Assistant/Special Teams, Arizona Cardinals
    • 2012: Cornerbacks Coach, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    • 2011: Special Teams Coach/Cornerbacks Coach, Tennessee State University
    • 2009-2010: Cornerbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, Tennessee State University
    • 2008: Cornerbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, University of Tennessee-Martin
    • 2005-2007: Graduate Assistant, Mississippi State University
    • 2003-2004: Defensive Backs/Running Backs Coach, Meadow Creek High School (Georgia)
    • Pro Experience: Defensive Back, Mobile Admirals (1999), Birmingham Steeldogs (2000), Birmingham Thunderbolts (2001)
    • Collegiate Experience: Cornerback, University of Alabama at Birmingham (1994-1998)
    • Born: July 23, 1976

    “I’ve known Blev for some time now, and he’s coached on all three sides of the ball,” Judge said. “He brings great experience that he can contribute to a lot of different parts of developing players. One thing you learn working with the special teams is you’re learning how to develop techniques of a total player. He could easily have gone over to the offense and worked with a skilled position. He could have stayed on special teams and have been an asset. We thought right now, the best fit for Blev was to help with our defense and bring some experience he brought from the other sides of the ball and work with Jerome.”

    Defensive Assistant Jody Wright

    • 2020-Present: Defensive Assistant, New York Giants
    • 2019: Offensive Assistant, Cleveland Browns
    • 2018: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    • 2015-2017: Director of Player Personnel, University of Alabama
    • 2014: Running Backs Coach, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    • 2013: Passing Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach, Jacksonville State University
    • 2010-2012: Graduate Assistant/Offensive Analyst, University of Alabama
    • 2009: Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations, Mississippi State University
    • 2006-2008: Graduate Assistant, Mississippi State University
    • 2005: Volunteer Coach, Mississippi State University
    • 2002-2004: Student Assistant Coach, Jacksonville State University
    • Pro Experience: None
    • Collegiate Experience: None
    • Born: July 21, 1981

      Defensive Quality Control Coach Mike Treier

      • 2020-Present: Defensive Quality Control Coach, New York Giants
      • 2019: Safeties Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, Marshall University
      • 2018: Defensive Backs Coach, Marshall University
      • 2017: Defensive Analyst, Marshall University
      • 2016: Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach, University of Tennessee at Martin
      • 2014-2015: Graduate Assistant, Marshall University
      • Pro Experience: None
      • Collegiate Experience: None
      • Born: May 9, 1990

      Assistant Special Teams Coach Tom Quinn

      • 2018-Present: Assistant Special Teams Coach, New York Giants
      • 2007-2017: Special Teams Coordinator, New York Giants
      • 2006: Assistant Special Teams Coach, New York Giants
      • 2004-2005: Special Teams/Outside Linebackers Coach, Stanford University
      • 2002-2003: Special Teams/Tight Ends Coach, Stanford University
      • 1999-2001: Special Teams/Linebackers/Tight Ends Coach, San Jose State University
      • 1996-1998: Defensive Coordinator, College of the Holy Cross
      • 1995: Defensive Coordinator, Boston University
      • 1992-1994: Special Teams Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, James Madison University
      • 1991: Linebackers Coach, Davidson College
      • Pro Experience: None
      • Collegiate Experience: Linebacker, University of Arizona (1986-1990)
      • Born: January 27, 1968

      “The experience is important, but the success is more important,” Judge said. “(McGaughey and Quinn have) been doing it at a high success rate for a long time. The fact that they had a relationship working together already, I had a relationship with both guys from going against them and have known them within the profession for some time now. T-Mac and Tom do a tremendous job. I love the way they relate to the players, I love the way they coach their guys. You know when you go against their units that they’re going to be sound and they’re going to play hard, and that’s critical. I have a lot of respect for both of them.”

      ARTICLES…

      Jan 092020
       
      Joe Judge, New York Giants (January 9, 2020)

      Joe Judge – © USA TODAY Sports

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      JOE JUDGE INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE…
      Joe Judge was officially introduced as the new head coach of the New York Giants at a press conference on Thursday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

      Opening Remarks by Team President/CEO John Mara (Video)
      Good afternoon and welcome. We began our search for a new head coach immediately after our season ended. I just wanted to make a few comments about that process. This was the deepest and most talented group of candidates that I’ve ever seen, and as a number of you have made note of, I’ve had quite a bit of experience in recent years in interviewing coaching candidates. We liked all of the coaches that we interviewed, we did not eliminate any of them from consideration. All of them made a great impression and were really interested in this job. We would have been pleased to have had any one of them as our head coach. For me, our search ended on Monday afternoon when we finished our session with Joe Judge. I have to tell you that this was perhaps the best coach interview that I have ever been a part of. When Steve (Tisch) met with him on Tuesday morning, he felt just as strongly as we did. Joe is someone who has certainly been on our radar for the last couple of years. When a coach works under Nick Saban and then finds his way onto Bill Belichick’s staff, that’s something that you take note of. Joe has been a part of three Super Bowls with New England and two National Championships with Nick Saban at Alabama. What came through in the interview was his poise, his confidence, his leadership, his knowledge of the game, what it takes to build a winning program, his ability to relate to players, and then of course, his work ethic. He’s a teacher, he’s a communicator, he’s somebody who demands and commands respect, and he just has a certain presence about him. For all of those reasons, on behalf of the Mara and Tisch families, I am very pleased to introduce Joe Judge as the new Head Coach of the New York Giants.

      Remarks by Head Coach Joe Judge

      Joe Judge’s Opening Statement: Thank you. First, I’d like to start by thanking the Mara and the Tisch families, Mr. Gettleman, Kevin Abrams, for this wonderful opportunity. I do not take it lightly the position I’m in and the people, the city, and the region I represent. I’d like to thank my family, my wife, my mother, my children, all of my close friends who have made each step of this process to enable me to be where I am today, which is just another step in the process of where we’re trying to go. I’d like to thank all of my former coaches that I have ever played or worked under for building in me the foundation of fundamentals that has allowed me to teach and instruct at a high level, to again put me in this position. I would like to start with (New England Patriots Head Coach) Coach Belichick, and (Alabama Football Head Coach) Coach Saban, (Former New England Patriots Special Teams) Coach Scotty O’Brien, (Former Mississippi State Special Teams and Linebackers) Coach Amos Jones, (Former Mississippi State Head Coach) Coach Sylvester Croom, (Former Mississippi State Head Coach) Coach Jackie Sherrill and (Former Lansdale Catholic High Football Coach) Coach Jim Algeo. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my own father, who was my first coach and taught me the most important lesson is you hold those you expect the most from at the highest standard. Now, I would also like to thank all of the players who ever played under me. They gave everything, that’s what I expect. I was very demanding, and I’ll continue to be demanding. But, you expect the players to be held to a certain standard and for all of the ones who have ever played under me to this point, I appreciate your work and your sacrifice to allow me to have this opportunity that I have today, and it’s just an opportunity. I have to make the most of it. That starts today.

      Now, there is a question out there that I’m sure a lot of people are asking, and that’s number one – who am I? Well, maybe I can explain that a little bit better, but instead of saying, ‘Who am I,’ by telling you what’s relevant in this conversation with being the coach of the New York Giants— what I’m about. What I’m about is an old school physical mentality. We’re going to put a product on the field that the people of this city and region are going to be proud of because this team will represent this area. We will play fast, we will play downhill, we will play aggressive. We will punch you in the nose for 60 minutes, we will play every play like it has a history and a life of its own, with a relentless, competitive attitude. We will play fundamentally sound, we will not beat ourselves. That is our mission right here. I’m about caring for the players in the locker room. Let’s not forget there’s a human element to this game. Let’s not think that in professional sports that paying a pay check to somebody makes it absent of empathy. We need to make sure that we take care of the players in our locker room, that we treat them the right way, that we teach them the correct techniques, and that we put them in the right situations to be successful. We’re going to ask these men to come in and give everything they have every day. We’re going to demand it, and we appreciate everything they give us. It’s our responsibility to take care of them on a daily basis and make sure that when they are done with our game, they are better furthered for the rest of their career as a father, a husband, and a professional in whatever avenue they take.

      Now, what this team’s going to look like. I mentioned earlier, I want this team to reflect this area. I want the people that pay their hard-earned money and the neighborhoods of New York, North Jersey, South Jersey, to come to our games and know that the players on the field play with the same attitude they wake up with every morning. That is blue collar, it’s hard work, it’s in your face. We’re not going to back down from anybody. We’re going to come to work every day and grind it out the way they do in their jobs every day, and they can invest their money in our program knowing it’s worthwhile. They put a Giants uniform on, they put a Giants hat or jersey on, that it’s not representing just the 53 on the field, but it’s representing their neighborhoods, their communities and their families with the values they have instilled in their children.

      Now, at this moment, my priorities are pretty simple. I have an outsider’s view of this team, I’ve competed against the Giants, I’ve studied this team from the outside looking in, preparing myself for this job and opportunity, but I have to make myself fluent in a language within the building. I have to study the players, I have to evaluate the current coaching staff and give everybody a fair evaluation to make sure we make the right decisions, that I have a clear vision of what the path going forward needs to be, to help these players progress the correct way. Relative to staff, I do not have a staff in place. Yes, I have some names in mind, but we will talk to everybody, we will take our time. My priority is to put the right men around these players that they can come to work every day, they can be coached hard, they can be taught. I want good people. Before anything, if you’re going to work in an organization, you’re a good person. I don’t want any alternative agendas, I’m making that clear right now. There is not going to be a coach in our organization who has nothing but the best interest in the players at hand and isn’t going to come to work every day and put their butt on the line for the guys who are going to work hard for them. I want teachers, not presenters. I don’t want someone who looks fancy in front of the screen that can say it with a lot of different sales lines. I want teachers, I want old school people who can get to our players and give them the mental image of what it’s supposed to look like. I want them to demonstrate on a daily basis the work ethic of what it’s going to take to do it successfully day in and day out. Because over the course of six months of this season, it takes day in and day out to be successful. The margins of error in this league are too small. You cannot get by with some kind of magic scheme or new gimmick or think you’ve reinvented the wheel. The same things win football games that have always won football games. It’s fundamentals. Those fundamentals will start for us in the classroom. They’ll start with being in meetings on time, they’ll start with being on the field on time in the proper dress. They’ll start with knowing your playbook, they’ll start with being out there and stretching the right way and warming your body up the right way that you prevent any kind of soft tissue injuries on the field. Then they’ll carry over to the fundamentals on the field—it’s running, it’s tackling, it’s ball security. It’s a contact sport, you can’t get around that. It’s meant to be a physical game. It’s for tough people. We will practice with a physical attitude. We will practice in pads, we will practice live tackling—not to make a statement that we’re trying to be tough. We’re going to practice live tackling because I believe in doing it safely. You want to make your players safer, you start by instructing them how to do it. We’re going to work on everything we do. Everything we ask them to do at full speed on Sunday at a competitive level we’re going to make sure that we have practiced, corrected, and re-practiced before they have to do it at a live pace. There are not going to be shortcuts with what we have to do. It’s a tough division, it’s a tough division and the city is full of tough people and they expect to see a program, they expect to see a product, that represents them. I’m going to do everything in my power, every day, to make sure the people of this city and this area turn on the TV or sit in the stadium seats and are proud to say that we’re their New York Giants. Now, from this point forward, any questions you may have I’d be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

      Q: You said yesterday in the statement that you guys were in conversation about where this team is and where it is headed and how you’re going to get there. My question is— how are you going to get there?
      A: Well, exactly what I just said a second ago. We’re going to start by showing up on time, by having a plan, for executing that plan. It’s going to be fundamentals. I’ll tell you this right now, and I’m sure it’s going to come up somewhere along the line—I’m not going to be the offensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator, or the special teams coordinator. I’ll work with all three sides of the ball. But, the primary focus I’m going to have as the head coach is I’m going to make sure we are fundamentally sound, we are situationally aware, and that we play with a relentless effort.

      Q: I’m curious about your conversations with Dave Gettleman and your conversation about personnel, your input, his input, and how that relationship is going to work as you coach this team.
      A: I couldn’t have been more excited walking in here than sitting down with Mr. Gettleman. It’s been tremendous. Listen, from a scout’s view, from a coach’s view, the one thing that I’ve been privileged to do is my role in New England when I first went there was heavy on personnel. Being a special teams coach, you have to know every player on your team inside and out because you have to know who you can use with a limited menu. It’s kind of like when you’re hungry, you go to the fridge, your Dad says figure out a way to make a sandwich. You know it’s in there, but you’ve got to find a way because you’ve got to eat. So, I’ve got to know what everybody does so I can put those ingredients together and get the most out of it. So, what I’ve prepared myself for was leading into every draft I studied every player in the draft as a player and an athlete. I didn’t look at them as a receiver, I didn’t look at them as a tight end, I didn’t look at them as a linebacker. I want to know how they moved— are they stiff in the hips, are they a straight-line speed guy, do they use their hands, what kind of short area quickness do they have, what kind of top end speed do they have, do they turn down contact. So, I’m used to looking at things from a big picture perspective on players in terms of what they bring to the team as a whole. You can turn around and say, ‘How good is this guy as a running back?’ Well, there’s different kinds of running backs. I want to know what kind of athlete this man is and how we can use his toolset to our advantage.

      Q: Obviously an outside perspective, what is your first impression of Daniel Jones from his rookie season, and then for his offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, what are you looking for from a coaching perspective?
      A: So, I’m going to answer both of those questions, and I don’t want to be confused in this, I want to make sure I make this clear, again, I have an outsider’s perspective. We have a lot of talent on this roster. It’s been assembled that way for a reason, I don’t want to sit here and try to give you expert analysis without having done my due diligence and homework to sit down and thoroughly investigate each one of these players. They all have ability. I’m excited to work with every player on our roster. Every player on our roster has talent, and every player on our roster will compete for whatever they get. Nothing will be handed out. In terms of the coaches, again, I want to reference back to I’m looking for teachers. I’m sure the next question is going to be something relative to, ‘What I look for in the offensive system?’ Well, I can answer that of all three systems—offense, defense, and special teams. Our philosophy is going to be to put pressure on the opponent to prepare for multiple things. Within that, we have to have personnel versatility and we have to have flexibility schematically to make sure that whoever we play, we can adjust our game plan to maximize our strengths versus their weaknesses. So, while there may be some games that we throw the ball 50 times, there’s going to be other times we may throw it 10 times and run the ball 45 times. So, I don’t have a crystal ball, Miss Cleo can help you better with that, but we’re going to look for the best system to help us week by week.

      Q: Clearly, the Giants were very impressed with your work with two great coaches, Saban and Belichick, and that’s looked great for you on the resume. How are you different from them? The big thing everybody wants to know is, you’re not those guys, how are you your own man?
      A: Well, I think when you work with anybody, you try to grow as much as you can from them. You’re going to always have the opportunity to learn lessons if you pay attention and are willing to learn something new. I worked for two great coaches, Coach Belichick and Coach Saban, and there wasn’t a day I went to work that I didn’t come home with a full new education and I knew fully every day that there were coaches out there that would pay thousands of dollars to sit in a staff meeting and just hear the wisdom they were saying on a daily basis. I’d like to think I was not foolish enough to squander that. Both have a very unique style about them. Both have a world of knowledge. Both have a lot of the same philosophical views, and a lot of the same values. What I learned from Coach Saban was not an individual lesson. What I learned from Coach Saban is it’s important to address everybody, not only on the what they have to do, but how it should look, what we’re going to do to get there, and why it’s important. And what you find out when you’re coaching players, they’re not robots, and if they understand what the end result is supposed to look like and why it’s important, normally those players are going to take the principles you instilled in them and in the game make a player’s adjustment, and you’re going to learn more from the players than they are as a coach because they’re going to find a better way to do it in the heat of the moment with a certain adjustment. And as a coach, you have to have your eyes open enough to understand they’re making the correct adjustment, you have to find another way to teach in the future to give multiple options. That’s what I learned from Coach Saban, and that applied across the board. That was whether you’re dealing with a person, a player in recruiting, developing a player on the field, or schematics in a game. You better make sure everyone knows the full picture of what you’re looking for. What I learned from Coach Belichick was real simple—be flexible within your personnel. Don’t try to shove round pegs into square holes. Figure out what you have. Let them play to their strengths. Don’t sit in a meeting and tell me what you don’t have in a player. Don’t tell me they can’t do certain things, tell me what they can do and then we’ll figure out as coaches, because that’s our job, how we can use that. That’s our responsibility. Everybody has something they can do. How many castoffs do you see around the league in the NFL on another team that everyone says, ‘Wow, how’d they get that out of them?’ Maybe they just weren’t closing their eyes to what they could do. We have to, as a coaching staff when we get assembled, we have to make sure we’re sitting down, we’re patient with our players, we fully evaluate them, we find out what they can do to be an asset, and that we’re not foolish enough to not use them.

      Q: A lot of fans look at this hire and they regarded you as a non-prominent name. There were a lot of prominent names that a lot of fans out there wanted, maybe more so than you, so what do you think of the notion, what do you say to the notion that you’re not the preferred choice for a lot of fans?
      A: To be completely honest with you, I’m not really concerned about whoever interviewed for this job. All I’m concerned about is the opportunity I have in front of me and what I have to do going forward. And I’m going to tell my players the same thing, it doesn’t matter how you got there, it doesn’t matter how high-profile you may be or may not be, it’s what you do on a daily basis. If you’re in a position, earn it. Earn it every day. And I appreciate the opportunity, I’m working every day to earn it. And our players have to do the same thing. The best players will play. I don’t care where you got drafted, I don’t care if you’re an undrafted free agent, I don’t care if you’re old, young, traded, whatever you got there for. Everybody will have an opportunity every day to compete for a job on our roster. Every day. If you want to be on the field, be the best player. Outwork the guy in front of you. Prove your value to us, show you can handle the job, and we’re going to put you on the field and give you an opportunity.

      Q: Could a culture—and I completely concede it’s an overused work, but I don’t know another better word to use in this example—when you look at taking over the New York Giants, what culture do you want to have in the locker room, and how will you go about making sure that is there?
      A: The only culture we’re going to have in that building, period, is a winning culture. And what that means is everybody comes to work every day, regardless of how they feel, and puts the team first, period. Whatever you have going on outside the building, you’re sick, a little bit of pain, you have discomfort, you’re upset, you’re mad, put all that aside. You come in, you put the team first. We’re going to ask our players at times to do things that necessarily may not be what they have in mind for themselves. But if it’s best for the team, they have to be willing to go forward with it, because that’s what a winning culture is.

      Q: You’ve mentioned teaching a lot—I know you have a background in teaching. Could you just elaborate on how you plan to teach, and what you look for in teachers alike?
      A: Well, I would say teaching is just to inspire learning. And I think what we have to do is, we have to identify how our players learn. Everybody learns different. Everyone learns different. We have to make sure that when we teach we hit the full spectrum of students in the classroom, the full spectrum of our players. We can’t just teach in an old school or a certain way. We have to find whatever’s helpful for these guys to take the information and apply it on the field. Now, whether that may be old school lectures for some guys, or that’s more visual evidence through tape for other guys, or maybe that’s on their feet through walk-thrus for some others, we’re going to as much as what’s necessary to make sure we’re checking the box on every guy. And as a coaching staff, I expect our coaches to know who’s up to speed on what. Don’t tell me you taught the whole room and one guy screwed it up. I want to know what you did to hit that guy. You figure out what he’s a little behind on and you make up the difference. Figure it out, that’s your job. So, to me a teacher is, we talk about no child left behind, but I’m going to tell you right now, if you’re in our locker room, you’re going to get coached. We’re not leaving anyone behind in here. So, I want people that are going to treat the player as a person, find out what makes them tick, what inspires their learning, and make sure we accomplish it every day.

      Q: We know about the endorsement that Coach Belichick gave ownership here about you. I’m curious, yes, it’s sort of two-fold, but one, what advice he had for you if you consulted with him and how that went? And I would like to kind of flip side, of all the things on your resume, you haven’t actually been a head coach if I’m correct?
      A: You’re absolutely correct in that. I’ve been a kindergarten PE teacher, I have not been a head coach (laughter).

      Q: So, just how you sort of sold them with that asterisk on the resume that you were ready to be a head coach.
      A: So, I’ll start with the first one, the question about Belichick and his advice. I’ll be honest with you, the only advice I really sought from him as far as this opportunity, he told me just be yourself. And that’s all I know how to be. I think one of the things people ask me a lot is, ‘You worked for Coach Saban, Coach Belichick, what makes you different?’ Look, I’m myself. I’m going to be myself every time. If I’m anything else, everyone’s going to see straight through it. And if you lie to the team, you’re going to lose the team immediately. So, I’m going to always be myself. And that’s a little bit different than other people and that’s fine. I’m not trying to emulate anyone I’ve ever worked for, I’m trying to take what I’ve learned from them and what matches with my own belief structure and do it with my own personality. The second part of the question, as far as being a head coach, you can’t fabricate that experience. And as a young head coach, I’m going to lean on Dave Gettleman, I’m going to lean on the assistants I hire, I’m going to lean on having the right people in the building to fill in some of the blanks that I may have. I’m about transparency and honesty, so I need men in my building who are going to walk in my office and tell me the truth, and we can be on the same page. Now, we may have some disagreements at times, but we’re going to walk out on that field with those players and all have the same vision, same voice, and be on the same page. Relative to how to handle a team, I can tell you that with the experience I’ve had, I feel prepared as being a head coach. From a personnel standpoint, I talked earlier, I have to evaluate everyone from the draft, I have to know who the players in the locker room are. Not just as an athlete in that regard, but personally, because a special teams coach, it’s not just point and click and say go do it. There’s a lot of recruiting that happens at certain times, and you have to find out how every player ticks. And everyone responds differently at different times. And you’ve got your core guys that show up to work and they know they pay their light bill and they’re going to do it every day. But there comes a time where you have to go ahead and go to the starting quarterback and say, ‘Hey buddy, I need you to be the holder this week because we have an issue with an injury.’ You may have to go to a guy that’s a starting linebacker and say, ‘I need you to start on punt team for me this week. You haven’t done it since training camp, but we need you.’ Or you have to go to a guy in the middle of a game and tell him he now has to cover a kick on kickoff. The thing is you have to get to those people early on and develop a relationship with them, a relationship with the entire team to have them trust you to know that you have their best interest at hand and the team’s best interest at hand. So, when you come to them and you ask them to form a task, they trust you that what you’re asking them to do is going to benefit them individually, and as a team collectively. Along with that, look, I’ve had the experience and it’s been beneficial—I get to stand in front of the room every day and coach every player. Every player. When we’re at 90, it’s all 90. When we’re at 53, it’s 53, plus the 10 on practice squad. So, in different adages, I’ve been able to address the team every day. And again, you can’t address the team all in one message. You have to make sure you’re hitting everybody in the room. So, you gain the experience of what the pulse of the team is and what makes them tick. You’re not always addressing them after wins. A lot of times you’ve got to walk in after a tough loss. A lot of times you’ve got to walk in after a tough loss where maybe your unit didn’t play as well as it should have, and you have to grab the attention of those players and not only tell them how we have to correct what was wrong, but why they have to trust you going forward. So, there’s been a lot of experience through the years of having to do that on a daily basis. Special teams, one thing you’ve got to manage is time. Another thing is people. As a head coach, those are the two main things you have to manage, time and people. So, I’ve had experience preparing me for that. I don’t have all the answers. I’m not preparing to sit here and tell you a lie like I have all the answers. But I am telling you I’ll find out the ones I don’t know and make sure by the time we get to the players, they’re the right ones.

      Q: This was obviously a goal of yours to become a head coach. Was there anything specific that you did to prepare for this? How much did you talk about being a head coach with Bill to learn how to become a head coach in the process?
      A: I think Bill understood my desire to become a head coach because of my involvement overall in a complete team. I never talked about becoming a head coach or walked around and advertised that as a specific goal. To be completely honest with you, I didn’t have a goal this year, specifically right now, of being a head coach right now. This opportunity is very unique. When I received the call from the Giants that they would like to interview me, that was very exciting. There’s 32 teams in this league, that’s not a lot. The reality is there are very few that have a chance at winning, the reality of that is there are very few of those that have a chance at winning that have tradition and history behind them. I don’t take this lightly, there’s not 32 great programs in this league. The truth is the Giants are one of (them) at the top, that’s what makes this job intriguing.

      Q: In this interview, was there a moment when it clicked that your vision and the Giants ownership and front office’s vision aligned? What was it like the morning when you found at you were getting the job. Where were you, how did you feel at that moment?
      A: I’ll go backwards on that. When I received the phone call and Mr. Mara offered me the job, it was very exciting, it was very humbling. I was actually sitting in my office in Gillette Stadium at the time, I had returned the night before from the interview and basically went in the next day to resume work like I would normally do and make sure I was prepared for what was coming up next. It was very humbling, I think when you get past the initial wave of excitement, and then you realize the task at hand you have, you realize that it’s time to go to work. There’s people depending on you and that’s a humbling feeling. You have to show up every day and do your absolute best because everyone is depending on you to do your absolute best, anything less won’t be acceptable. Without going into too many details about the interview, I would say when we spoke about discipline on the team, that’s something very important to me. I think you need to have the fundamental foundation of discipline on your team, that you hold players accountable. It’s important to have good people in your locker room. It’s a family business for our ownership and it’s a family business for myself. My children have all been born in this business. Knowing that your passion is football, that your desire to win is what you truly love and that benefits your family and you’re representing something bigger than yourself. That moment right there is when it really clicked that this is where I belong and where I want to be.

      Q: You just mentioned your family. What was their reaction, specifically your wife and kids, when you got the job?
      A: Very exciting, they were very excited. I have a 14-year-old who stays as current as he can on everything. So he is already looking to make GM moves, sorry Mr. Gettleman. He was telling me about the roster when I came home and things we can do. I have an 11-year-old who was kind of speechless when we told him at school, we pulled him out of class to let him know, he couldn’t have been more excited. I’ve got a 9-year-old back there, Emma Riley, and she has a gymnastics meet in Manhattan in a few weeks. She’s been talking about that all fall. Now she gets to have her meet but it’s also her new home, that’s a little bit extra special for her. I haven’t really broken the news yet to Ella because she doesn’t know she has to move but she is very excited to be a part of the Giants.

      Q: When you talked about taking the job you said you wanted to be old school. Is that the way you were brought up or is that something that you learned from Belichick and Saban? It sounds very much like Parcells and Coughlin.
      A: We used to have posters when I was in kindergarten about sharing and telling the truth and being polite and all that stuff. The thing that I really learned from the great coaches later in my career was really that they reinforced everything that I learned early in my career. That it’s really the basics that carry over. There’s some minutia that gets caught up when you get into the flow of things. Everyone thinks there’s some guru out there with a magical scheme, everyone thinks there’s some short cut to being good. Everything I learned from coach Belichick and coach Saban reinforced on a daily basis that it’s the fundamentals. You don’t build the Empire State Building by washing the windows, you build it with the foundation and work it on up. Whatever your goal is at hand, you can put that in the distance and start working day by day to take a step forward.

      Q: You hear coaches talk about how this is a timing business and sometimes you take an opportunity and you take it a year too soon or a year too late. Why is the timing right for you now to be standing here as the new head coach of the Giants?
      A: The only thing that’s relevant to me on this is the opportunity with the New York Giants. The timing is now and that’s the only time that is relevant to me.

      Q: I know you said you haven’t studied all the players yet. Obviously, you know a little bit about the roster and that there hasn’t been a lot of winning around here recently. How quickly do you think you can turn this around? How big of a job is it to get this back on track?
      A: To try to get any team to win in this league is a tough job, they are all tough jobs. Every team is good, they are coached well, they have talent. There is a lot of parity in this league, it’s structured and built that way. Every job in this league has a tough job trying to get a win. I’m not into making predictions about wins. I’m a process-built guy, you focus on the process and you worry about the steps in place you have to execute to get to the end result. I’m not going to circle a number on my board and say we have to get to X number of wins to be successful. I’m worried about when these guys walk into the building in mid-April, what we have to do with them to get them working in the right direction to build from the ground up.

      Q: A big part of your job will be dealing with reporters and especially answering questions after games. Just to kind of kick start that process, I’m curious in the last game, what went into the decision not to have someone returning that last punt?
      A: I’m not going to get into any specific decisions on schematics. I can assure it was discussions we had before the game and we called it according to what we thought gave our team the best opportunity to win. I appreciate the question. At this point, I’m really looking forward to everything we are doing with the New York Giants. That’s a question that’s probably better fit for Foxborough.

      Q: You mentioned something about the things you learned in kindergarten that stayed with you. What did you actually learn by teaching kindergarten?
      A: When I got done being a GA (Graduate Assistant) at Mississippi State, which when you are a GA, it’s basically volunteering to be tortured and it’s the best experience you can ever have. I washed cars, I got coffee, I built playsets, I did everything I could do and on top of that, I got to coach football and learn. They kind of paid me 700 bucks a month, which didn’t even cover the rent even in Mississippi. What I learned coaching PE for three days in the West Point School District was the patience you have to have with children. I think I had five or six classes a day in a classroom, it wasn’t a gymnasium, it was a classroom. These kids would come in and I realized I had to have an organized plan with these kids that covered the full 60 minutes I had them. If I let any detail in that plan go to waste, it was going to be chaos. I had kids dancing on the window sills, I had kids peeing themselves, I had kids doing everything. I figured out you have to keep them busy. You have to be detailed and prepared on the front end to make sure that regardless of who your audience is or who your classroom is, you have to have something to keep them busy and occupy them mentally and stimulated that they want to participate in what you are trying to accomplish.

      Video of Joe Judge’s post-introductory press conference remarks is also available at Giants.com.

      JOHN MARA’S POST-PRESS CONFERENCE REMARKS…
      The transcript of team President and CEO John Mara’s post-introductory press conference remarks is available in The Corner Forum. The video is available at Giants.com.

      STEVE TISCH’S POST-PRESS CONFERENCE REMARKS…
      The transcript of team Chairman and Executive Vice President Steve Tisch’s post-introductory press conference remarks is available in The Corner Forum. The video is available at Giants.com.

      DAVE GETTLEMAN’S POST-PRESS CONFERENCE REMARKS…
      The transcript of General Manager Dave Gettleman’s post-introductory press conference remarks is available in The Corner Forum. The video is available at Giants.com.

      REPORT – THOMAS McGAUGHEY WILL REMAIN SPECIAL TEAMS COODINATOR…
      SiriusXMNFL Radio is reporting that Thomas McGaughey, who was hired as special teams coordinator by Pat Shurmur in 2018, will remain in the same position under new Head Coach Joe Judge.

      Jan 022020
       
      Dave Gettleman, New York Giants (February 27, 2019)

      Dave Gettleman – © USA TODAY Sports

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      NEW YORK GIANTS INTERVIEW KRIS RICHARD…
      The New York Giants officially confirmed that they interviewed Dallas Cowboys Defensive Backs Coach/Defensive Passing Game Coordinator Kris Richard for the team’s head-coaching vacancy on Thursday. The Giants said Richard met with team President and Chief Executive Officer John Mara, General Manager Dave Gettleman, Vice President of Football Operations and Assistant General Manager Kevin Abrams, and “other staff.”

      “A very impressive guy and we really enjoyed our time with him,” Gettleman said on WFAN later in the day.

      The 40-year old Richard has served as Dallas’ defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator since 2018. Before that he served in a variety of roles with the Seattle Seahawks, including defensive coordinator (2015-2017), defensive backs coach (2012-2014), cornerbacks coach (2011), and assistant defensive backs coach (2010).

      According to media reports, the Giants have also set up interviews with the following head-coaching candidates on Friday and Saturday:

      • FRIDAY: Former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy
      • SATURDAY: Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy
      • SATURDAY: Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale

      Per previous media reports, the Giants have also requested to meet with:

      • New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Josh McDaniels
      • New England Patriots Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Joe Judge

      DAVE GETTLEMAN HITS THE AIRWAVES…
      New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman was interviewed by the following stations on Thursday:

      Dec 312019
       
      Dave Gettleman, New York Giants (November 10, 2019)

      Dave Gettleman – © USA TODAY Sports

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      DAVE GETTLEMAN ADDRESSES THE MEDIA…
      New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman addressed the media on Tuesday (video):

      Opening statement: Good morning. Before we begin, I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year. Over the past weeks, there has been much speculation over the futures of Pat Shurmur and myself. Every day is a job interview in this industry and we accept that. So, I understand the question of why was Pat dismissed and I was not. Just to be clear, there were substantive discussions between myself and ownership regarding my job performance and vision moving forward over the past few weeks. So, John (Mara) and Steve (Tisch) made their decisions and here I stand. Before we go any further, I just want to be clear— Pat Shurmur is as fine a man as I’ve ever worked with. There are many reasons why the New York Football Giants are in the current state, and I take my share of culpability. As John said yesterday, I have had misses. However, given where we started in December of ’17, we’ve made progress in many areas on and off the field that we are encouraged by and see as a sound foundation for the team to come. Finally, one more point before I take questions, the person in this position must be willing to make tough decisions and I have certainly shown the willingness to do so. However, be assured, no decision is made in a vacuum. We believe in collaboration among ownership, coaching and personnel. With that, I will take questions.

      Q: What is the state of the franchise? Is it about now, is it about the future, is it about patience, is it about urgency? 
      A: We feel like we’ve addressed it. When I came here, I had two major goals. Number one was to find a quarterback, and I really believe we’ve done that. Daniel (Jones) had a terrific year, came on, did some great things and we have seen great things for him in the future. The second accomplishment I had as my goal was to set the team up for sustained success. So, over time since I’ve been here, we have regenerated, we have rebooted, so to speak, and done a lot of things behind the scenes that needed to be done. John alluded to them yesterday. We have completely redone our scouting situation, how we look at college personnel, how we look at pro personnel. We are in the process, we have hired four computer folks, software, and we are completely redoing the backend of our college and pro scouting systems. As John alluded to yesterday, we have hired a fulltime clinician. We are doing a lot of things behind the scenes. In terms of being forward thinking, we have also in the last few years (been) ramping up the analytic and technology piece. So, that’s where we’re going. I know that sometimes it’s difficult, the instant gratification piece. But that’s where we’re going, and I really feel good about the direction we’re headed.

      Q: I know previously you spoke to a team employee about the Leonard Williams trade. Can you talk about the thought process of trading a top seven pick and multiple other draft picks to bring Williams in when he was going to be a free agent at the end of the year?
      A: Basically, you know, it was a three and a five. If we sign him it moves up to a four. The thought process was, I really believe that as much as the style of play evolves, there are basic truths— you have to run the ball, you have to stop the run, you have to rush the passer. If you are seriously deficient in any one of those three areas, it makes it tough. It’s going to be tough sledding. By bringing in Leonard, we looked at it, we obviously evaluated the film, by bringing him in, we felt he could be a disruptive force inside. And, he has been. He has been.

      Q: Couldn’t you have gotten him at the end of the year?
      A: Well, that’s hypothetical. I understand what you’re saying, I really do, but at the end of the day, we felt good about him, he did what we wanted him to do, and he wants to be here.

      Q: Why not wait until free agency?
      A: Because now we know what we have, and we were willing to do that.

      Q: So, you were willing to give up two draft picks, whether it’s three, four, or three, five, in order to get that information?
      A: Exactly. We felt we needed him. Again, we felt good about it and we feel, and he’s proven, he’s disruptive in there. He improved our rushing defense with him in there, he buzzes around the quarterback, we’ve just got to get him to finish now. But, the bottom line is we felt it was worth the deal. The juice was worth the squeeze.

      Q: You have said a few times when you’ve talked to us about how you believed in Eli Manning. It was not a mirage, you said he had several years left in him. Looking back, was it wise to use 23 million in cap space for a player who was given such a short…he only played two games and then he was a backup and a mentor. Were you blindsided that it was only going to be two games, and if so, would you have done that differently?
      A: Here’s what I would say, we really believed in Daniel. We didn’t know he would come that fast. Again, you’re talking about a kid who played at Duke, in the ACC, and like I said, we had taken at six, we didn’t blink. We just didn’t realize he would come that fast. At the end of the day, it was time. It was time. Eli was great with him. Who better to learn from and who better to have his back? Eli is a pro’s pro. A big piece of being the head coach, being the quarterback, the general manager of the New York Football Giants, is speaking with you folks and getting the message to our fans. That’s a big piece of it. That’s another reason, who better for Daniel to learn from than Eli Manning. So, to answer your question— no, we’re fine with it.

      Q: Do you have any regrets over the Odell (Beckham Jr.) trade? If not, why not?
      A: Really and truly, we’re not going to know about that trade for two years. Two rookies, and Jabrill (Peppers) is only in his third year. We’re really not going to be able to evaluate that trade until two years. You come back in two years and hopefully I’m standing here, we can have that conversation. I’m being honest, you have to wait. People immediately want thumbs up or thumbs down. Right now, we are excited about Dexter Lawrence, Oshane (Ximines) and Jabrill (Peppers). We’re going to find out.

      Q: Are you willing to give Leonard Williams the significant big contract that he very clearly wants?
      A: I don’t discuss money, I don’t discuss contracts, I don’t discuss negotiations.

      Q: Do you have any assurance that he won’t test the market? 
      A: He was in my office yesterday and he told me he wants to be here.

      Q: Do you feel like you are giving him a lot of leverage by trading for him?
      A: No.

      Q: How much do you feel like you have to sign him? Otherwise those two picks go just for the information that you then can’t use.
      A: If we hold our water, we will get a third-round comp (compensatory pick).

      Q:  I understand changes had to be made when you first came here. They were made at a rapid pace. Looking back, was the process a little too quick because it upset whatever continuity you maybe wanted to keep in the locker room and upset the chemistry?
      A: No, I don’t feel that way at all. We had a culture issue that was well documented, and changes had to be made. You had an operation that had one winning season since 2012. The definition of insanity, so no, to answer your question.

      Q: How do you rationalize the recommitment to analytics when the night after you drafted Saquon Barkley you mocked the concept?
      A: Here’s what I would say to you about that. I did that kidding around. You turn around and learn very quickly, I’ve learned there are no throw away lines here. You guys will take anything and do that. In terms of the analytics and devaluing the running back and this and that, Saquon’s special and that’s what I should have said. Saquon’s special, he’s an outlier. We are committed to being forward thinking. We are committed to being the best in every area. We are making a determined effort to move that way. We are in the process of that process.

      Q: When you traded Odell, we asked you why you didn’t call the 49ers. You said whoever picks up the phone to make the phone call gives up leverage.
      A: I talked to the 49ers.

      Q: We asked you why you didn’t shop around for a better offer than the Browns. You said whoever picks up the phone to make the call loses leverage. In your in-house interview, you said you picked up the phone to call the Jets for Leonard Williams, you initiated the conversation. Why?
      A: Because I heard rumors. I had heard rumors that he was available. So, I called to ask, I called Joe and said, ‘hey Joe’ and heard all over the place he’s available.

      Q: So my question was going to be did you feel like you lost leverage by doing that?
      A: I felt like we got trade value. When you’re in the trade business, you want to get to a win-win. Most people are savvy enough where it’s going to have to be fair.

      Q: Yesterday, John Mara said he expects results, more results, better results in 2020. He thinks the team should be better and will be better. How close is this team right now to being a playoff contender in your mind?
      A: It all depends upon how quickly the puppies come along. We have a lot of young kids. We led the league in snaps by rookies. A big part of it is how quickly they come.

      Q: When you look at the coaching process and hiring a new coach, obviously, you are looking at the college and pro guys. What are some of the benefits of a college coach? Because they tend to handle both duties of GM technically and also coach. How is that dynamic when you are interviewing guys coming from the collegiate level?
      A: One of the things that I find interesting is we are getting younger and younger players in the league. These kids we’re drafting are 21 years old, they have been in college for three years. In Carolina, I drafted two kids that were 20 years old. The (Tremaine) Edmonds kid that Buffalo drafted was 19. You are drafting younger kids so to take a college coach now, I think he would have that advantage of having been connected to these college kids for so long. Understanding the culture and what they’re at, what they’re about and where they’re at. I appreciate that as far as him being the GM. Obviously he has his recruiting war room and he’s the one doing that. It’s a collaborative process, everything is a collaborative process. This is a monster up here and anybody that’s doing it on their own, it’s difficult. I would say to anybody, any college coach that we talk to, I’m here to help him. One of the things that I’ll tell you is we’re all support staff, we really truly are.

      Q: There’s been some speculation that there may be some coaching candidates who might not want to work with you in your situation, not knowing whether you have ownership’s support for multiple years. Is that something you’ve heard at all? Do you have any concerns that maybe candidates will say no?
      A: I don’t understand the notion that I’m tough to work with. I think it would be from people who don’t know me. Obviously, as we move forward in the coaching search, it’s the dating game. There will be an opportunity for them to look me in the eyes and say, ‘Hey Dave, what up?’ I don’t understand that. I really don’t. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I would say this. I went to Carolina, Ron (Rivera) was there. I didn’t fire anybody there and three years later, we were in Santa Clara at the Super Bowl.

      Q: What if it’s because they don’t believe running the ball, stopping the run and rushing the passer are their three (priorities)?
      A: That’s part of the conversation. It’s just part of the conversation. We’ll see.

      Q: In April, in an interview with Steve Politi, he asked if there was a culture problem, and you said ‘Not anymore’ with a smile, according to what Politi wrote. You now have a season where you have four wins, more than half of your losses are by two scores at least, and you did have some locker room issues this season. But it’s clear you think the culture is somehow better. Why?
      A: Part of the problem is when you lose year after year after year, you need to get that winning feeling back. In terms of culture problems downstairs this year, I know this, I saw a team that came out, practiced hard every day, and played hard on Sundays. I’m not sure where that comes from. First time it’s ever been mentioned to me, and I’m through that locker room all the time on a daily basis.

      Q: You don’t think with Janoris Jenkins you had an issue with the locker room this year, and some other players?
      A: What Janoris said, he said. He came out and he said what he said. He’s it. He was it.

      Q: Do you feel like you’ve been put on notice a little bit from John Mara yesterday? He said you need to have a better batting average in free agency and all that. Do you feel like you’ve been put on notice this year going into 2020? As far as your job status.
      A: Oh absolutely. We’re all on notice. We truly are.

      Q: It’s different from a first-year GM to a third-year GM.
      A: Right, absolutely. I feel that pressure every day, whether I’m in my first year or 15th year.

      Q: You’re going to have a lot of cap space. Are you planning on being very aggressive?
      A: Well, first of all, whatever amount of money we end up having, you have to put $20 million and put it to the side, put it in a passbook savings account because you want to be in a position in-season to do extensions. If an attractive player is there, you want to have the cap space to make the decision, instead of saying ‘We can’t afford this guy, we can’t afford that guy.’ So, you take $20 million aside. You build the team through the draft. Free agency is really to a certain degree, and I’ve said it before, free agency is to set yourself up so that in the draft… You address issues with free agency so that you can set yourself up in the draft so you take the best player available.

      Q: I have a few. One, you said Leonard Williams improved your run defense. The Eagles controlled the ball on the ground both times you played them, 239 yards, four touchdowns with a guy named Boston Scott at running back. I’m curious why you think he improved the run defense? Two, why don’t you talk and take accountability more? It seemed like Pat Shurmur was out in front kind of taking all of the bullets, and then of course gets fired and you do not. Third, why should players, free agents, trust you when you say you didn’t sign a guy to trade him, and then you trade him? Why should people trust what you say?
      A: You hit me with three. You got your money’s worth. The bottom line is with why should people trust me, why shouldn’t they? We made the deal with Odell. At the beginning of the year, I told him, ‘Come in, we’ll get it done,’ and we did. It’s as simple as that. Then from that point on, you make decisions. What was the next question? Oh, the run defense? It takes more than one guy. That’s my response to that. You have a number of people playing defense. Football is the ultimate team game. You can’t pin an offense’s performance or a defense’s performance on one player. What was the third question?

      Q: Why don’t you talk publicly more and take accountability when things are going wrong?
      A: Here’s what I would say to you. We looked at it. We probably need to address it, and it may change next year. But there are very few GMs that talk in-season. Most GMs, and I did this in Carolina, I did not talk. Once the season starts, to me, it’s about the players and coaches. It really is. Even in the Super Bowl season, I was behind the scenes. The only time I talked in the Super Bowl season once the season started was in the first or second week of the playoffs when Ron was getting inundated by requests. So, I stepped in for 20 minutes one day before practice. But that’s it. I really and truly believe, and if you go around the league… you know, I was feeling guilty about it. I felt guilty that Pat was up there taking the bullets. So, I turned around and had Pat Hanlon go around the league and see what people are doing. Most GMs, if the GM talked in-season this year, it was because of a big deal. That was it.

      Q: You made one. Leonard. That was a fairly high-profile deal.
      A: Well, we didn’t talk.

      Q: Just to follow up on something Ralph (Vacchiano) asked earlier. I know you talked about are you worried about certain things turning off coaching candidates, and he mentioned being difficult to work with, I think more of what he was getting at was, you’ve been put on notice. You’re clearly on the hot seat entering 2020. There’s uncertainty that this coach may not be working for the GM that hires him in 2021. Does that concern you in terms of potentially turning off prominent head coaching candidates?
      A: I think that the power of this franchise, this is an iconic franchise, the power of this franchise and the stability of this ownership will allay the fears of any coach that thinks about that.

      Q: You said earlier talking about the Leonard deal that you felt as though the draft assets you were giving up were worth the player coming here. Then, in a later question you talk about how to build a team, and the team needs to be built with the draft. So, how do you explain the–
      A: The contradiction? From your view, yeah.

      Q: I don’t think it’s just me. There’s no question that you’re contradicting the idea of giving away assets versus protecting assets so you can build a team.
      A: Leonard is 25 years old, he’s young, he’s about to enter his prime. I felt that what he gave us with the potential that he gives us was worth those two assets.

      Q: What do you say to the Giants fans who’ve seen nine wins the last two seasons, four this season, and you’re generally kind of telling us today that everything’s okay?
      A: I’m telling you everything’s okay? Is that the vibe you’re getting? It’s getting better, and this is frustrating for all of us. I’m not happy about this. Ownership’s not happy, we’re all frustrated. But unfortunately, it takes time.

      Q: I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to think about this, but for you personally, you mentioned some of the changes behind the scenes, but for you personally, how do you anticipate you’re going to do things and be different and be better, because I’m sure you want to be better moving forward? So, what kind of changes, and how do you anticipate you’ll be better next year?
      A: Well, I know this may sound crazy, but I met recently with a big analytics guy. I’m going to learn from my mistakes. I never stop asking myself the question, ‘What could we have done differently? What could we have done better?’ That question never stops getting asked. I always ask that question. We evaluate, we re-evaluate, we go backwards and forwards with it. And that’s what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to talk to other GMs, inside and outside the industry, and continue to grow.

      Q: If I recall from your first press conference, one of your big themes was ‘hog mollies,’ the offensive line, your top priority. It wasn’t good the first year, had some moments this year, where do you stand in that rebuilding. What pieces do you have? How much more work do you have to do?
      A: That part of it has been frustrating. George Young, may he rest in peace, used to call that the ‘Dance of the Elephants,’ and those five guys have to work together as a unit, and if they don’t, it’s messy. We feel like, unfortunately, Pio (Jon Halapio) got hurt again, he tore his Achilles as you guys know, so now he is not going to be ready until camp most likely, but we feel like we’ve got some good pieces there, and they’ve just got to continue to work together and improve. We’re always going to look to add, we’re not afraid to draft over anybody, so we’ll continue to work that.

      Q: You stated that you can turn things around pretty quickly, but in the last three years, your record says what your record says. So, why would this year be different in your mind in terms of winning?
      A: Well, I just told you, these young kids are getting better. That’s what this next roster building season is about. It really is. I would say this to you, when you’re talking about teams that get turned around quickly, take a look at what they started with first. Okay? Just take a look.

      Q: You mentioned before that you felt guilty watching Pat go up there every day–
      A: It was hard.

      Q: Well, like you said, when you felt guilty about that and then you said we should have a study to see what other GMs do. But why did that matter to you, if your gut tells you you’re feeling guilty?
      A: I talked about it with Pat and we decided to stay the course.

      Q: Your job is in the biggest media market in the country, so you realized coming in that there are probably certain obligations. Are you concerned at all that your lack of availability to the media at large over five months projected a vibe of weakness to the fanbase? And if not, why not?
      A: I’m concerned about that very much, and that’s why we’re going to address it.

      Q: One thing that John Mara mentioned yesterday is that he would be willing to listen to a coaching candidate, that he could be convinced that that coach could say, ‘I want more personnel say than a coach typically has here,’ that he’d be open to that. How do you feel about that?
      A: Number one, whatever’s in the best interest of the New York Football Giants, I will do. Whatever’s in the best interest of the club. Number two, what I would say is there were no major decisions made without everybody’s opinion. For some reason there is a—we’re collaborative here. We are collaborative.

      Q: What type of head coach does this team, this franchise, need at this point?
      A:  We need a head coach that can bring together a staff that’s enthusiastic. We need a head coach with leadership. We need a head coach with intelligence, and one that can connect with these players. That’s what we need.

      Q: Do you understand why a lot of paying customers are skeptical you can get this job done?
      A: Do I understand why? Sure.

      Q: With Daniel, you sound very optimistic about him, there obviously were a lot of reasons to be optimistic, but the turnovers, obviously the fumbles, 11, I think, 12 interceptions, why do you think that’s correctable?
      A:  It’s legit, what you’re saying is legit, obviously. In later games, he did a better job. He had a bad run, and in later games as you watch the pressure around him or whatever, you see him feel it better and have two hands on the ball. He cut it down the last handful of games. He knows it, he’s going to work on it. He’s that kind of a kid.

      Q: If the personnel decisions are collaborative, how come you get credit for drafting Daniel and for what he looks like, but Pat (Shurmur) does not?
      A: I have no idea what you’re talking about. Very frankly, no idea.

      Q: Just a couple of housekeeping questions, you talked to the previous staff, did you ask anybody to come back?
      A: Here’s what we did, when I spoke to the staff yesterday, there’s a number of housekeeping things. Number one, we told them they’re under contract and they are welcome to use the facilities. Number two, we will certainly recommend, suggest, that the new head coach speak with them. Number three, we will send them all to the Senior Bowl because that is the ‘job fair,’ for lack of a better term, in the NFL. We have a couple of our young coaches that are probably going to coach in the East-West game that we’re going to send. Yes, I think that’s it.

      Q: They’re free to pursue offers?
      A: Oh yeah, that’s right, the other thing. They’re free to pursue other opportunities. They’re under contract, obviously, so if it’s an offensive line coach and he’s going for an offensive line job, theoretically we could block it. We will not do that.

      Q: Is Eli (Manning) officially done with the Giants?

      A: I haven’t spoken to him yet. He took some time, and I’m assuming he’s going to get back to me.

      Q: How would you grade yourself over the last two years?
      A: Over the last two years? Not good enough. Really, it hasn’t been good enough. It will get better.

      COACHING SEARCH UPDATE…
      According to media reports, the New York Giants have requested to interview the following head coaching candidates:

      • Former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy
      • Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale
      • Dallas Cowboys Defensive Backs Coach/Defensive Passing Game Coordinator Kris Richard
      • New England Patriots Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Joe Judge
      • Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy
      • New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Josh McDaniels

      The 56-year old McCarthy was fired by the Packers in December 2018 after serving 13 seasons as head coach of the franchise. With the Packers, McCarthy was responsible for a 125–77–2 (.618) regular-season record and a 10–8 (.556) post-season record, winning one NFL Championship in 2010.

      The 56-year old Martindale has served as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator since 2018. Before that he was the linebackers coach for the Ravens (2012-2017), defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos (2010), linebackers coach of the Broncos (2009), and linebackers coach of the Oakland Raiders (2004-2008).

      The 40-year old Richard has served as Dallas’ defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator since 2018. Before that he served in a variety of roles with the Seattle Seahawks, including defensive coordinator (2015-2017), defensive backs coach (2012-2014), cornerbacks coach (2011), and assistant defensive backs coach (2010).

      The 37-year old Judge has held mainly special teams titles with the Patriots since 2012, including special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach (2019), special teams coordinator (2015-2018), and special teams assistant (2012-2014).

      The 50-year old Bieniemy has served as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator since 2018. Before that he was the running backs coach for the Chiefs (2013-2017), Minnesota Vikings (2006-2010), UCLA (2003-2005), and University of Colorado (2001-2002). He also served as offensive coordinator at the University of Colorado (2011-2012).

      The 43-year old McDaniels was interviewed by the Giants for their head coaching vacancy two years ago when the team decided to hire Pat Shurmur instead. McDaniels is best known for serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during two stints with the Patriots (2005-2008 and 2012-2019). In between, he was head coach of the Denver Broncos (2009-2010) and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach of the St. Louis Rams (2011). McDaniels served in a variety of roles with the Patriots from 2001-2004 before becoming offensive coordinator.

      There is also rampant media speculation that the Giants will interview Baylor University Head Coach Matt Rhule, who was an offensive line assistant with the Giants under Tom Coughlin in 2012. Rhule has served as head coach at Baylor for three years (2017-2019). Before that, he was head coach at Temple University (2013-2016).

      JON HALAPIO TORE HIS ACHILLES…
      General Manager Dave Gettleman confirmed that center Jon Halapio tore his Achilles’ tendon late in the season-finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Halapio, who underwent successful surgery today, is currently scheduled to be a free agent this offseason.

      Dec 302019
       
      Pat Shurmur, New York Giants (December 29, 2019)

      Pat Shurmur – © USA TODAY Sports

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      NEW YORK GIANTS FIRE PAT SHURMUR, RETAIN DAVE GETTLEMAN…
      The New York Giants have fired Head Coach Pat Shurmur after his team finished the 2019 NFL season with a 4-12 record. Combined with his inaugural season with the Giants in which he finished 5-11, Shurmur was 9-23 (.281 winning percentage) with the franchise. Ironically, Shurmur was also 9-23 in his two years as head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2011 and 2012.

      At the same time, the New York Giants have also announced that they are retaining General Manager Dave Gettleman despite him shepherding the franchise through the same 9-23 disaster the past two years. The Giants hired Gettleman as the team’s new general manager in late December 2017. Gettleman hired Pat Shumur as the team’s new head coach one month later in late January 2018.

      “(Team Chairman and Executive Vice President) Steve (Tisch) and I have had many extensive discussions about the state of the Giants,” said team President and Chief Executive Officer John Mara in a prepared statement. “This morning, we made the very difficult decision that it would be in the best interest of the franchise that we relieve Pat of his duties. The last three seasons have been extremely disappointing for the organization and our fans. Pat has been a successful and highly-respected NFL coach for 21 years and he is not solely responsible for our record. But we came to the conclusion it is best to have a fresh start with the coaching staff. We very much appreciate how much Pat has done for this franchise. He is a man of character and integrity and the team has conducted itself with pride and professionalism.

      “As owners, we take full responsibility for our recent poor record. It is our goal to consistently deliver high-quality football and we will do everything in our power to see that there is a rapid and substantial turnaround.”

      “The last two seasons have been a continuation of what has been a very difficult and disappointing period for our franchise,” said Tisch. “It is never easy to part with someone the caliber of Pat. But John and I came to the conclusion that we need a new voice in the coach’s office and made the decision to bring in new leadership.

      “We understand how frustrated our fans are. They expect more from us and we expect more from ourselves. Our focus now is on developing and improving our football team so that our fans can enjoy the winning team they expect and deserve.”

      “Dave Gettleman is our general manager in 2020 and hopefully for many years after that,” Mara said. “We believe he is the right person to lead us going forward. Dave has a long record of success. We think he’s capable of putting a great team together and he’s going to get that opportunity. To the extent we need to make changes in personnel or the way we do things, we’re going to discuss that.”

      “Although our record didn’t reflect it this season, we believe Dave has assembled a strong nucleus of young players that will help us compete for championships in the future,” Tisch said.

      Mara and Tisch said they will immediately begin their search for a new coach.

      “The search will be extensive,” Mara said. “We understand this a very big decision for our franchise. We’ve had three losing years in a row and, quite frankly, we have lost some standing as an organization. When you have three losing years in a row as we have, you face a lot of criticism. A lot of it is deserved. It’s up to us now to turn that around and get back to where I think we should be.”

      Jul 262019
       
      Oshane Ximines and C.J. Conrad, New York Giants (July 25, 2019)

      Oshane Ximines and C.J. Conrad – © USA TODAY Sports

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      JULY 26, 2019 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
      The New York Giants held their second full-team summer training camp practice on Friday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The complete public training camp schedule is available at Giants.com.

      INJURY REPORT – COREY COLEMAN TEARS ACL…
      Wide receivers Corey Coleman (knee), Darius Slayton (hamstring), and Alex Wesley (PUP List – unknown) did not practice on Friday. Neither did tight end Evan Engram (“managing his workload”).

      The Giants announced that Coleman tore his ACL in practice on Thursday. “Corey Coleman unfortunately hurt his knee yesterday, so we’ll just have to see where it goes for him,” said Head Coach Pat Shurmur. “I feel bad for the guy because he’s worked really hard… So most likely (he will be lost for the season)… He’ll go through the process. He’ll get second opinions and all that stuff… He was a guy that had a chance to be in there and compete to either start or have a role.”

      Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (fractured thumb) was limited in practice, not catching any passes. “(Shepard will) be back soon,” said Shurmur. “It’s the tip of his thumb. He’ll be out there running around today. I’m not concerned about that one at all… no surgery.”

      Linebacker Markus Golden (cramps), cornerback Grant Haley (cramps), and wide receiver Brittan Golden (groin) left practice early.

      PRACTICE NOTES…
      Some snippets from various media sources:

      • George Asafo-Adjei and Chad Wheeler received some first-team reps at offensive tackle.
      • S Michael Thomas sacked QB Daniel Jones on a blitz.
      • QB Daniel Jones started 5-of-6 during 11-on-11 drills.
      • CB Ronald Zamort made a nice diving break-up of a pass from QB Alex Tanney.
      • CB Grant Haley made a leaping interception off a QB Kyle Lauletta pass tipped by CB Corey Ballentine, who also tipped away another pass from QB Alex Tanney.
      • LB Tae Davis saw a lot of reps with the first-team nickel defense, along with LB Alec Ogletree.
      • LB Ryan Connelly, WR Reggie White Jr., and S Sean Chandler received praise from Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
      • QB Daniel Jones threw a nice deep pass to WR Russell Shepard, who made a fingertip grab for a touchdown, beating CB Julian Love. Jones finished 11-of-13 with eight straight completions.
      • QB Eli Manning threw a nice deep sideline pass to WR Golden Tate over CB Julian Love.
      • LB Oshane Ximines “sacked” QB Daniel Jones off a rollout.
      • WR Brittan Golden scored a long touchdown, but was injured on the play and left the field after being knocked over by CB Antonio Hamilton.
      • WR Russell Shepard had an active day catching the football from QB Daniel Jones.
      • LB Lorenzo Carter flashed in run defense (setting the edge) and as a blitzer (with a “sack”).
      • Julian Love saw reps at nickel corner with both the first- and second-teams. He also played safety with the second-team defense.

      GENERAL MANAGER DAVE GETTLEMAN…
      The transcript of Dave Gettleman’s press conference on Friday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

      HEAD COACH PAT SHURMUR…
      The transcript of Pat Shurmur’s press conference on Friday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

      THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
      Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com: