Giants announce GM Dave Gettleman is retiring, but Joe Judge's status still unknown
Senior vice president and general manager Dave Gettleman is retiring, the New York Giants announced Monday. A search for his replacement will begin immediately.
"It was a privilege to serve as the general manager of the New York Giants the last four years and to have spent so many years of my career with this franchise," said Gettleman in a statement. "We obviously have not had the on-the-field success I expected, and that is disappointing. However, I have many fond memories here, including two Super Bowl victories, and I wish the team and organization only the best moving forward. There are many good people here who pour their souls into this organization. I am proud to have worked alongside them."
It had been speculated that Gettleman, 70, was on his way out one way or another. He was hired as GM following a dreadful 3-13 season in 2017 and was expected to start building a winning team. Instead, like a car stuck on the ice, the Giants mostly spun their wheels while slowly drifting away from where they wanted to be.
None of Gettleman's teams did as badly as that 3-13 team, but they were all pretty close (the 2021 Giants finished 4-13). In the four seasons since his hiring, the Giants have gone 19-46. Many of his personnel moves didn't work out well (including hiring Joe Judge as head coach and drafting QB Daniel Jones), and now after a disastrous 2021 season he's leaving the Giants with an expensive, underperforming roster and little salary-cap space to work with.
Gettleman has a long history with the Giants. He joined the organization as a scout in 1998 and was promoted to director of pro personnel by 1999, a position he'd hold until 2012. He signed some significant players over that time, like Lawrence Tynes and Plaxico Burress, who would become important role players in the Giants' run to two different Super Bowls.
What about Joe Judge?
The fate of Judge, who bears responsibility for the atrocious performance of the 2020 and 2021 Giants, has reportedly yet to be decided. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Judge hasn't yet met with ownership to lay out his plan for the future.
My understanding is Joe Judge has not yet met with #Giants ownership. So there are more discussions to be had. We'll continue to monitor and update. https://t.co/VVqG1LiEIe
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 10, 2022
That doesn't definitively mean he's staying, but the lack of a quick decision following months of embarrassing performances could indicate that team owners John Mara and Steve Tisch are willing to give Judge another chance. As Garafolo pointed out, this wouldn't be the first time that Tisch and Mara waited a few days before making a decision about their head coach.
One more on the #Giants and Joe Judge: This is reminiscent of the end of the 2006 season when Tom Coughlin’s fate wasn’t decided until he laid out for ownership a full plan for the future. It took three days before the team confirmed he was back. Also had a GM change then, too. pic.twitter.com/5xwg6gi0WI
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 10, 2022
Judge has been coaching like he wants to be fired for weeks now, and his decision to run quarterback sneaks on second-and-11 and third-and-9 on Sunday made it seem like he simply gave up on his team. With a new GM coming in (who likely wants to pick their own head coach), this seems like the perfect time for a coaching change. We'll have to wait to see if Mara and Tisch agree.
