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The Giants or part-owner John Mara did not officially announce Dave Gettleman’s return as general manager on Wednesday.
Asked about it, Mara smiled and said, “Well, he’s coming back, if you want an official announcement on this.
It was clearly not something on Mara’s mind, if he needed to leave Gettleman. The reason for the return isn’t entirely based on the team’s performance – the Giants this season finished 6-10 and, again, didn’t make the playoffs – but rather how Gettleman and Joe Judge, the head of the first year coach, worked as allies during their first year together.
“He and Dave worked really well together,” Mara said. “All of our personnel decisions have improved dramatically this year. They were able to agree on virtually every decision that we made. I thought our draft was solid, our free agency moves were solid and I think we have the basis for something that can be very successful in the future.
Gettleman, who turns 70 next month, went 9-23 in his first two years leading the entire football operation. There is no change in the structure of the way the organization goes about finding and recruiting players.
“The general manager and head coach work together on staff decisions,” said Mara. “Hey, I didn’t accept 100% of the time but my dad [franchise patriarch Wellington Mara] I used to have a saying, “If you both agree all the time, I don’t need you two. I did not have to intercede once to break the ties.
“They were able to talk about it and resolve it, showed good communication and at the end of the day the decision that is made is a New York Giants decision, not Joe’s or Dave’s decision.” . They have worked together very well and that is one of the reasons I am optimistic about our future.
“I just didn’t think making a change at this point was something that was going to be beneficial.”
Mara praised the work the judge did in his first year as a head coach at all levels. The Giants started 0-5 and were 1-7 in mid-season, but rallied to go 5-3 in the second half of the season.
“Looking back a year ago, I can tell you that we are very happy with the selection we made at the head coach,” said Mara. “I thought Joe was doing a really good job considering what he was facing.
“Here you have a brand new head coach at 38 and look at what he has been asked to face, a pandemic, no off-season schedule, no mini-camps, no preseason games, virtual meetings, protocols that kept changing and he loses his best player [Saquon Barkley] in week 2. I thought he was showing great leadership and adaptability, nothing seemed to bother him during the year. Something has to change, he just made the change and we went from there. I thought he was showing leadership, courage and determination all the time. I thought he represented our franchise very well, as I want our head coach to represent our franchise.
“I thought he had established a great base and a great culture, I know the word ‘culture’ is overused but I think it’s so important and I think we have the beginnings of a really good culture here. . ”
The record and missing out on the playoffs after finishing in second place in the historically poor NFC East was not acceptable, Mara said, but he saw signs that the franchise is moving in the right direction.
“Obviously I’m not happy with the number of games we’ve won,” said Mara. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t do better than 6-10 but I see some progress in the building. I think the quality of the people we have in the locker room has improved a lot. I think we have great leaders there. I believe we have laid the groundwork for a foundation that can continue to be successful and I am excited about what the future holds for this team. ”
Mara said: “There is a different feeling in the building now than it has been for several years.
Mara was asked how long fans have to wait for the Giants to produce a winning team.
“Well, I hope not too long because I can’t wait too long, quite frankly. I’m tired of sitting here at the end of the year trying to explain what went wrong and why I’m optimistic about the future, ”said Mara. “I want to do it after a winning season. ”
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