Giants will have a new head coach, but GM Dave Gettleman is sticking around
It’s hard to figure how a team that goes 9-23 over a two-year stretch could put all of the fault on the head coach, but that’s what the New York Giants have done.
Pat Shurmur was fired as Giants head coach on Monday morning. That was a justifiable move, considering the two straight awful seasons. But to fire the head coach and keep the general manager is indicating the team is happy with the way the roster was built and it just wasn’t coached well. That’s a dubious stance to take.
The Giants will keep general manager Dave Gettleman. The second line in the announcement that the team had fired Shurmur was: “The team also confirmed that general manager Dave Gettleman will remain in his position.”
Daniel Jones pick paid off for Dave Gettleman
Daniel Jones couldn’t save Shurmur’s job, but it seems he saved Gettleman’s.
Jones was a controversial pick at No. 6 overall in the 2019 draft, but the Duke quarterback played well. He had ups and downs, and turned the ball over too much, but overall his season was promising. The rest of the Giants draft showed promise too.
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Still, the roster had plenty of holes. That’s why New York went 4-12 this season. Gettleman has gotten a lot of grief from Giants fans over the past few years. But the team made Shurmur the scapegoat for another bad season.
Giants need new head coach
Gettleman will presumably have a big say in who the Giants’ next coach is. Most general managers lead that search.
Whoever takes over the job will be charged with Jones’ development. That will be the most important factor. The new coach will need Gettleman to work on the defense, offensive line and other areas that could still use work. There is a decent core of skill-position players, if they can stay healthy, but still plenty of issues that need to be fixed.
Even though the Jones pick seems to be the right one, many Giants fans are still skeptical about Gettleman. But the team’s ownership is not.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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