Gettleman retires after 4 seasons as Giants’ GM
Dave Gettleman announced his retirement Monday after four seasons as the Giants’ general manager. The team said a search for a…
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement Monday after four seasons on the job.
Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said a search for a new general manager will begin immediately.
“This will be a comprehensive search for our next general manager,” Mara said in a statement. “We are looking for a person who demonstrates exceptional leadership and communication abilities, somebody who will oversee all aspects of our football operations, including player personnel, college scouting and coaching.”
Tisch added in the statement: “It is an understatement to say John and I are disappointed by the lack of success we have had on the field. We are united in our commitment to find a general manager who will provide the direction necessary for us to achieve the on-field performance and results we all expect.”
The Giants are requesting an interview with the Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team also has requested permission to interview Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, a source told ESPN’s Field Yates. New York also requested permission to speak with two Tennessee Titans execs — vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden and director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The Giants did not address the status of coach Joe Judge in their announcement about Gettleman. Schefter reported last month that Judge was expected to return in 2022 despite the Giants’ last-place finish this season.
The Giants (4-13) had a 19-46 record with Gettleman as GM, losing at least 10 games in all four seasons.
“It was a privilege to serve as the general manager of the New York Giants the last four years and to have spent so many years of my career with this franchise,” Gettleman said in the statement released by the team. “We obviously have not had the on-the-field success I expected, and that is disappointing. However, I have many fond memories here, including two Super Bowl victories, and I wish the team and organization only the best moving forward. There are many good people here who pour their souls into this organization. I am proud to have worked alongside them.”
Gettleman, 70, was hired to replace Jerry Reese late in the 2017 season. He was just the fourth general manager of the Giants since 1979, and he leaves with the shortest and least successful tenure of the bunch.
Mara and Tisch said Gettleman was retained in 2020 because they thought he deserved a chance to finish what he started. Judge spoke highly of his working relationship with Gettleman and other key members of the front office late in the 2020 season.
But the results were much of the same. The Giants finished the 2021 season with their eighth losing season in nine years, with the final four under Gettleman’s watch.
His tenure began with the decision to stick with quarterback Eli Manning in 2018 and select running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 pick. Barkley rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, but his 2020 season ended after two games because of a torn ACL and injuries limited his production in 2021 as well.
Gettleman selected Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, hoping he had found a franchise quarterback to succeed Manning. Jones, however, has been inconsistent and has struggled with turnovers. His 2021 season ended early because of a neck injury as he missed the final six games.
In 2018, Gettleman signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a five-year extension worth up to $95 million and then traded him the next year to the Cleveland Browns in a multiplayer trade.
Meanwhile, some of his free-agent signings have failed to deliver on their hefty price tags, including offensive tackle Nate Solder, who received a four-year, $62 million contract in 2018, and wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract in 2021.
Gettleman is a cancer survivor who spent most of his first season as general manager with the Giants being treated for lymphoma. The former high school coach originally joined the franchise in 1998. He worked in pro personnel and was promoted to pro personnel director the next year. He stayed in that position for 12 seasons before serving as senior pro personnel analyst for the final season of his first stint with the team in 2012. He was the Carolina Panthers‘ GM from 2013 to 2017 before returning to New York.
Gettleman began his NFL career in 1986 with the Bills. He has also worked for the Denver Broncos and has been a part of seven Super Bowl teams, including three winners.
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