Tag: Chris Mara

Chris Mara no longer Giants’ senior vice president of player personnel

The New York Giants have silently changed Chris Mara’s role within the organization and he will now serve as “senior personnel consultant.”

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The New York Giants have made several front office changes since Joe Schoen took over as general manager but perhaps none more significant than the one apparently made in silence this week.

Without a press release and no fanfare to speak of, the Giants changed Chris Mara’s title from “senior vice president of player personnel” to “senior personnel consultant.” Additionally, Mara was also entirely removed from the player personnel section of the team’s website.

Mara is now listed under the team’s “ownership” section below John Mara, Steve Tisch and Jonathan Tisch. Meanwhile, Tim McDonnell, the team’s director of player personnel, now tops the “player personnel” section.

Both Chris Mara and Tim McDonnell became the center of attention prior to Schoen’s hiring with some alleging nepotism within the organization. John Mara offered an impassioned defense of both.

“That perception has been created by you [the media] and others and the reality is that in terms of my brother, my brother spends most of his time doing evaluation of college players. His grades go into our system and he participates in the draft,” a testy John Mara told reporters in January.

“Chris is a very skilled evaluator, but he does not have any authority here other than the fact that I will go to him on occasion and ask him about players.”

Despite those statements, Chris Mara was heavily involved in the team’s GM search. He sat in on most interviews or joined them via Zoom call.

“I’ve said this repeatedly, for whatever reason you guys keep asking me about it, it’s the general manager and the head coach that are the most important people in this building in terms of making personnel decisions,” John Mara added. “Chris is in those [GM] interviews because he’s part of ownership and I value his opinion; I value his skills and I want him in there. At the end of the day, I’ll listen to him, but it will be Steve Tisch and myself who make the final decision.”

After being hired as GM, Schoen sat down with the team’s entire front office to discuss future plans and future roles. Some, like Kevin Abrams, were reassigned. Others, like Chris Pettit, were sent packing.

Chris Mara will stick around albeit in a decreased role.

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Defiant John Mara insists nepotism does not exist within Giants

John Mara defiantly denied that nepotism exists within the New York Giants even as his brother, Chris Mara, sits in on GM interviews.

New York Giants co-owner John Mara met with reporters via Zoom conference on Wednesday and did so with several strict rules in place.

First and foremost, the Zoom call was not to be livestreamed for anyone to see. Secondly, reporters in attendance were permitted only a single question before being muted and not allowed any follow-ups.

That setup allowed for Mara to completely control the conversation, as well as any and all information that would be made available.

Never was that more evident than when Mara shut down any suggestion that nepotism exists within the organization, essentially blaming that on a media fabrication.

“The perception [that family members aren’t held to accountability during this stretch] has been created by you and others,” Mara chided a reporter. “The reality is that in terms of my brother, my brother spent the bulk of his time doing the evaluation of college players. His grades go into our system, and he participates in the draft.

“All personnel decisions in this building, and this has always been the case, have been made by the general manager and the head coach. When they agree on a decision, they come to me with it. As long as they are both in agreement, I okay it.”

The irony of Mara’s statement — other than acknowledging that Chris Mara grades rookie prospects — is that the team announced just hours earlier that his brother was sitting in on general manager interviews.

The Giants held their first such interview on Wednesday, meeting with Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen. And Chris was right there alongside John and Steve Tisch.

“Chris is a very skilled evaluator, but he does not have any authority here other than that I will go to him on occasion and ask him about players,” Mara added.

And general manager candidates, apparently.

Outside of Chris, the Giants also employee another unfirable entity: Tim McDonnell, the team’s co-director of player personnel who just so happens to be John’s nephew (and Wellington Mara’s grandson).

“Tim is probably the most respected person we have in this building,” Mara boasted. “Coaches, front office staff, the general manager go to him and ask his advice on players because he’s a good evaluator, he’s worked his way up from the bottom, and he’s earned his stripes. He does not have any authority here.

“The personnel decisions have always been made, and will always be made by the general manager and the head coach. If they agree on a draft pick, on a UFA, then I’m going to okay it 99.99 percent of the time. The only reason I will raise an issue with that is if there’s a conduct issue. I’ll question them, I’ll make them defend their position, and make sure they’re on the same page. But, at the end of the day, if they’re in agreement, that’s the direction we’re going in.”

So, Chris evaluates rookies, provides grades and sits in on general manager interviews. Tim evaluates players and offers his input to both the general manager and head coach. And John signs off an all personnel moves after the GM and head coach consult him.

John did say one thing that rang true, however.

“I kept thinking during the season we had hit rock bottom, then each week it got a little worse,” Mara said.

Yes. Yes it did. And Wednesday’s Zoom conference call was no exception.

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Giants’ John Mara holds year-end press conference: 11 takeaways

New York Giants co-owner John Mara held his year-end press conference on Wednesday and here are 11 takeaways from the bizarre ordeal.

New York Giants co-owner John Mara jumped on a Zoom conference call with local beat writers on Wednesday and expectations for substance were high.

That was dashed immediately, however.

Moments before the call went live, the Giants informed NFL Network, WFAN and other outlets that the conference call was not to be livestreamed. Meanwhile, reporters who were on the call were informed they would be allowed only a single question. No follow-ups.

Fellow co-owner Steve Tisch was not on the call and as things currently rest, is not scheduled for any availability.

So, what did Mara say? Here are several quick takeaways.