Tag: Dave Gettleman

Ex-Giants GM Dave Gettleman ‘thrilled’ for Saquon Barkley

Former New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman is “thrilled” for Saquon Barkley and wants the world to remember that he got it right in 2018.

Former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley will lead the Philadelphia Eagles onto the field this Sunday in Super Bowl LIX and no one is prouder than the team’s former general manager, Dave Gettleman.

It was Gettleman who determined Barkley had been “touched by the hand of God” before selecting him second overall in the 2018 NFL draft — a decision widely criticized despite Barkley’s success.

Now, long after Gettleman’s tenure has ended, he has the opportunity to gloat over his talent evaluation and is taking the opportunity to do exactly that.

“I will say this, I certainly didn’t expect him to turn around and leap over a guy,” Gettleman told the New York Post. “I was watching the game live and I was like, ‘You got to be (expletive) me.'”

From the onset, Gettleman believed Barkley was a Hall of Fame talent and would ultimately conclude his career with a gold jacket. Even if the Eagles don’t win on Sunday, that projection appears likely and no one is happier about that than the 73-year-old, who loves to remind everyone he was right.

“When a running back can get to the line of scrimmage clean, nobody’s at his feet, the great ones can do great things,” Gettleman said. “There’s nothing his game lacks in terms of ability. The thing people didn’t understand when I took him is that he’s a threat to go the distance any time the ball is in his hands.

“When a running back is a legitimate touchdown waiting to happen, (expletive) the analytics. You’re in the press box, the ball goes into Saquon’s hands, the whole place is holding their breath as soon as there’s a little seam they’re all thinking, ‘Oh (expletive), he’s gonna go!’ Does this shock me? No. And I know I sound like an (expletive) when I say these things. No, it doesn’t shock me.”

Barkley remains close with Gettleman, admitting the two still communicate and text regularly. He never felt any pressure to live up to Gettleman’s high praise, instead suggesting it served as fuel to motivate him. Criticism of the selection also motivated Barkley.

They’re both on top of the world and laughing now but the irony can’t be lost: Barkley is doing it with the Giants’ biggest rivals.

“He’s just a great young man,” Gettleman said. “It’s a great situation for him. He’s in the right place and I’m thrilled for him and I’m proud of him.”

In what will shock no one, Gettleman is rooting for Barkley to win Super Bowl LIX, hoist an MVP trophy, and stick it to the Giants one more time.

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Another QB who got away shows Giants the importance of the position

The New York Giants got beat by Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. in Week 16 and that should serve as a lesson to them.

Michel Penix Jr. made his first NFL start on Sunday for the Atlanta Falcons against the New York Giants.

It was a successful debut for the former University of Washington star who the Giants had an opportunity to draft this past April. The Giants chose LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick. Two spots later, the Falcons surprised everyone by taking Penix.

They had recently inked veteran Kirk Cousins to a massive free agent deal and Atlanta taking a quarterback that early in the draft was not on many experts’ bingo cards.

No one complained at the time that the Giants took Nabers over Penix and no one is moaning about it now. Nabers has had a record-breaking year for the Giants but on Sunday, Penix made it clear that the Falcons may have gotten the better of the situation for both the short and the long term.

The Giants still need a quarterback. They rolled the dice on Daniel Jones in 2019 and lost. In the six years they were trying to make things work with Jones, they watched a river of quarterback talent flow by them in the draft while they concentrated on other needs.

Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, Bo Nix and Penix could have all been Giants had the team realized sooner that Jones was not the long-term answer.

That selection can be tied back to the team’s previous general manager, Dave Gettleman. The Giants fell in love with Jones, locked themselves into him, and out of the many better options to come.

Gettleman was also the man who decided to select running back Saquon Barkley second overall in the 2018 NFL draft bypassing such talent as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Sam Darnold.

Just this season alone, the Giants have been schooled by Hurts, Darnold, Jackson, and now Penix.

Gettleman called Barkley a “gold jacket” guy who was “touched by the hand of God.” He also compared him to Barry Sanders, which was a perfect comp as Sanders was a great player on a bad team most of his career and never won anything.

While some people might believe that Barkley was a solid pick, he wasn’t right for a rebuilding team. As we’ve stated before, he’s the final piece to a puzzle, not the first one. That’s why he’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory with the first-place Philadelphia Eagles right now.

The Giants will likely be selecting first in the 2025 NFL draft and deservedly so. They will have their pick of quarterbacks and maybe finally get this trainwreck of a franchise turned around.

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PODCAST: Did Giants misstep by passing on QBs in NFL draft?

This week on the Giants Wire Podcast, we discuss Daniel Jones, the 2024 NFL draft, Dave Gettleman, Saquon Barkley and much more.

This week on the Giants Wire Podcast, we recap the 2024 NFL draft and discuss the six selections made by New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen.

The Giants reportedly attempted to trade up for a quarterback but fell short. Did Schoen make enough of an effort? Was Malik Nabers over J.J. McCarthy the right pick at No. 6 overall?

How will the rest of the team’s draft class impact the 2024 regular season?

Additionally, former Giants general manager Dave Gettleman emerged from his hiding spot to throw some shade. What do we make of his “clown” comments? Did he have a point?

And then there’s Saquon Barkley… Upset that Giants fans boo the Philadelphia Eagles? It’s a strange issue to have.

Those topics (and more) are discussed in the latest episode of the Giants Wire Podcast, which is hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary on X) and joined by site editor Dan Benton (@TheGiantsWire).

The Giants Wire Podcast will air every week during the regular season and occasionally throughout the offseason. You can listen below

Follow the Giants Wire Podcast:
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Don’t forget to use our playlist to enhance your listening experience:

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Ex-Giants GM Dave Gettleman goes off on media ‘clowns’

Former New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman emerged from his hiding spot to take unprovoked aim at members of the “clown” media.

Former New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman rarely emerges from his hiding spot since “retiring” in January 2022. However, he decided to bless the football world with his presence this past week.

Gettleman briefly sat down with Neil Stratton of Inside the League and detailed what he misses most about the game and how isolating retirement has become.

“You know, really and truly, I miss the people. It’s kind of fascinating,” he said. “People told me it would take me at least a year to get settled, and they were absolutely right on the money. It’s amazing how the emails, texts, and calls stop. It’s like you died.”

Although Gettleman misses those he worked with, he most certainly does not miss members of the media. Most notably, he says, he doesn’t miss those who spend the year scouting and compiling comprehensive reports and grades for draft prospects.

In Gettleman’s mind, they are mere clowns who pale in comparison to his genius.

“I finally broke down and got a subscription to The Athletic,” Gettleman said. “Partly because it was $1 a month. But it’s like anything else. You got this guy giving every team grades, but you’ve got to be kidding me. Who are you? What have you done? When have you put your nuts on the line?

“But sadly, you got owners listening to these clowns, and even GMs listening to these clowns.”

During Gettleman’s Giants tenure, he most certainly did not listen to members of the media. If anything, he went out of his way to do the exact opposite of what they suggested, ultimately at his own peril.

While Gettleman may have had success early in his career, the moment he was elevated to GM (first with the Carolina Panthers), it was all downhill from there. His time with the Giants was particularly ugly and his decisions continue to weigh down the organization years later.

At no point with Gettleman at the helm did the Giants sport a winning record. At the time of his firing — sorry, we mean “retirement” — he had compiled an overall record of 19–46 (.292).

Those in glass clown cars really shouldn’t throw stones.

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Former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman calls NFL draft analysts ‘clowns’

Former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman recently raised a vulgar question to NFL draft analysts, whom he referred to as “clowns.”

Dave Gettleman is still as old school as it gets.

The former Carolina Panthers and New York Giants general manager was recently interviewed by Neil Stratton of Inside the League. And Gettleman, included in what appears to be a weekly newsletter from the publication, had some pretty harsh words for NFL draft analysts.

The excerpt reads:

It’s way different from when I started and much more problematic, and on top of that, you have the media now. I finally broke down and got a subscription to The Athletic, partly because it was a $1 a month, but it’s like anything else.

You got this guy giving every team grades, but you gotta be kidding me. Who are you? What have you done? When have you put your nuts on the line? But sadly, you got owners listening to these clowns, and even GMs listening to these clowns. The NFL has become a very tough job, and scouting is difficult.

Well, he’s not wrong about scouting being difficult. Just look back at his track record in the draft for Carolina.

Gettleman had a few very big misses in 2014 first-rounder Kelvin Benjamin, 2015 second-rounder Devin Funchess and 2016 first-rounder Vernon Butler. But, to his credit, he also reeled in a handful of key players including linebacker Shaq Thompson and offensive tackle Taylor Moton—both of whom are still with the organization to this day.

If there’s one thing that we all should’ve learned about the draft by now, it’s that it can be a crapshoot. Sometimes people are right about prospects and sometimes they’re wrong—whether those people are league executives or draft analysts.

And when it comes to Gettleman, we’ve learned that you can’t teach 6-5, 240 nor an old dog new tricks.

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Colin Cowherd: Giants are like a failed Blockbuster franchise

Colin Cowherd recently compared the New York Giants to a failed Blockbuster franchise: One of the NFL’s biggest messes.

The New York Giants have the worst record of any NFC team over the past decade. That’s a fact that cannot be disputed.

The Giants’ fall from grace is frequent fodder for national talk radio and television host Colin Cowherd, who loves to take shots at the Big Blue front office and ownership.

“If you had an optimism meter in the NFL, the bottom of it has to be Carolina and the Giants if they lose Saquon Barkley,” Cowherd said this week on his daily show on FOX Sports, via Awful Announcing.

“Daniel Jones in games that Saquon doesn’t play is 8-14. When I look at the Giants, when I was back there years ago, I felt like it was this great successful accounting firm. They feel like Blockbuster Video. They have not pivoted. Not very good upstairs. In 12 seasons since winning the Super Bowl, they have one double-digit winning season. And that is in the weaker NFC.

“Outside of Carolina, what is a bigger mess in the NFL? You have an owner that wants a quarterback that the GM and the coach privately don’t want. With Saquon Barkley, it is a BB gun offense. Without him, it’s a cracked water pistol. It’s bad, it is bad.”

It has been reported that Giants owner John Mara was not directly involved in the Daniel Jones contract. But, Cowherd comparing the Giants to fallen video behemoth Blockbuster is a correct analogy, one that really can’t be argued with.

Although most of the Giants’ woes can be pinned on the tunnel vision of previous general manager Dave Gettleman, current GM Joe Schoen has quite a few misses of his own.

Schoen and his head coach, Brian Daboll, appear to have the full confidence of ownership but that will wane if the team does not begin winning with regularity starting this year.

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Giants’ Dave Gettleman ignored Broncos’ call during 2018 NFL draft

The Denver Broncos tried to offer the New York Giants a major trade during the 2018 NFL draft but then-GM Dave Gettleman ignored the call.

When the New York Giants selected running back Saquon Barkley at No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL draft, it was a widely controversial decision.

There was a segment of the Giants’ fanbase that was in love with the pick, but a separate segment who felt they overreached. That opinion was shared by most analysts and experts, who argued that the running back position — not necessarily Barkley himself — was overvalued.

That debate rages to this day and no amount of success Barkley can attain will change that. It’s an issue that persists within his own contract negotiations.

Now, with Barkley slated to become an unrestricted free agent in March, the discussion has resurfaced. Did the Giants make the right choice with that pick? Should Barkley get a big-money contract?

Many of Barkley’s teammates believe the Giants should break the bank for him. But the outside perception remains the same: No running back is worth a hefty investment.

Ultimately, this entire situation could have been avoided.

Connor Hughes of SNY reports that the Denver Broncos called the Giants on draft night in 2018 and had a major offer prepared for the No. 2 spot.

After learning that Baker Mayfield would go No. 1 overall, John Elway was desperate to trade up for quarterback Sam Darnold. He was ready to offer the Giants a King’s random.

Then-general manager Dave Gettleman ignored the call.

“I remember talking to Mike Maccagnan about this because you remember the Jets were drafting third,” Hughes said during a Friday appearance on WFAN. “I’m like, dude, weren’t you nervous like that the Browns and Giants were gonna go quarterback-quarterback and suddenly you’re landing the number three, which would have been Josh Rosen, because after drafting Christian Hackenberg, they weren’t gonna go with a project like Josh Allen again — and he goes, ‘no, because we had our sources that said the Giants were so locked in on Barkley at number two.’

“He goes, ‘I wasn’t worried until the morning of the draft happened, and we got word that it wasn’t Sam going one, that Baker was going one.’ They thought they were getting Baker at three. They had Sam as their number one quarterback, but thought they were getting Baker at three — and he told me that the only time he got worried was that morning, because he knew the only person that loved Sam more than him was John Elway with the Broncos, and he was petrified that John was going to call the Giants and offer the house for No. 2 in order to get Sam Darnold.”

And they did. Or at least they tried to.

“He told me he saw John and said to him, ‘I was surprised you didn’t do that, I really thought you were trying to jump us,’ and they did — but Dave wouldn’t answer the phone,” Hughes said. “Dave was so locked in on No. 2 that he wouldn’t answer the phone. So, when Dave said in his press conference they didn’t need to even take calls, they ran it up to get Barkley — he was not lying.”

Barkley went on to win the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award but his presence hasn’t tipped the scale for New York. There’s no telling how much Gettleman could have gotten back in that trade, but it could have set the Giants up to be better than they’ve been.

Gettleman and the Giants “parted ways” following the 2021 season.

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Louis Riddick wanted to hire this coach if he became Giants GM

If Louis Riddick had been hired by the New York Giants as their GM in December of 2017, he had his sights set on this legendary head coach.

There was quite a bit of news on the coaching front this week — not just in the NFL but in college football as well, with legendary coach, Alabama’s Nick Saban, announcing his retirement.

Prior to the Giants hiring Dave Gettleman as their general manager in December 2017, Louis Riddick was being considered for the position. The Giants, of course, went with Gettleman, which did not work out well for them.

As it turns out, Riddick had big plans for his head coach had he landed the Giants’ GM job. In fact, it appears Riddick reached out to Nick Saban proactively while still being in the running for the position.

This wasn’t the first time Saban’s name was connected to the Giants.

According to Bruce Arians back in 2018, Saban coveted the Giants head coaching job and there were also rumors that Saban nearly replaced Tom Coughlin when his tenure with the Giants ended.

It’s certainly an interesting ‘what if’ scenario, especially considering the way that the Gettleman era is remembered among fans.

It’s interesting to think about how Riddick would have fared as the Giants GM, especially if he was able to lure Saban away from Alabama.

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Cam Newton: Former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman was behind infamous ‘tie game’

Panthers great Cam Newton confirmed that former GM Dave Gettleman was behind the decision to bench him for not wearing a tie to Seattle in 2016.

It’s taken seven years, but we finally have Cam Newton’s side to one of the more infamous stories in Carolina Panthers history.

The franchise’s all-time leader passer joined fellow quarterbacks Jordan Palmer and Kyle “Lovey Dovey” Allen for Wednesday’s episode of The QB Room podcast. Newton, who provided an absolute wealth of perspective on his time with the Panthers, recalled the trip to Seattle in 2016—where he was benched because he did not travel to the game with a tie.

Yeah, that happened.

Here’s Newton’s account:

Newton, who won the Most Valuable Player award the season prior, was held out of the game’s opening drive. In a sick twist of karma to the powers that be (or power that were), backup Derek Anderson tossed an interception on the very first play of the possession.

After the Seahawks cashed in with an easy field goal, head coach Ron Rivera subbed Newton in for the remainder of the Sunday night showdown. The Panthers went on to lose, 40-7.

Oh, and if you think Newton may be fibbing, linebacker Thomas Davis and safety Tre Boston—both of whom were also on that 2016 squad—have very similar recollections . . .

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Ex-Giants GM Dave Gettleman: Analytics can’t measure Saquon Barkley’s value

Former New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman defends selecting RB Saquon Barkley second overall and says analytics can’t measure his talent.

When the New York Giants selected Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, then-general manager Dave Gettleman was heavily criticized.

How, in the modern NFL, could Gettleman place that sort of value on a running back? They were a dime a dozen in the eyes of many.

As talented and dynamic as Barkley was, he was still just a running back.

Even after Barkley had a monster season and won the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, the questions wouldn’t cease. And the harder Gettleman pushed back, the more intense the criticisms became.

Gettleman is now several years removed from his rush-out-the-door “retirement” but his stance on Barkley hasn’t changed. Despite the many injuries and issues with drops, the former Giants GM still believes he made the right call on Barkley.

Not only that, but Gettleman believes Barkley’s value can’t be measured analytically and that he should, contrary to popular belief, be given a big-money, long-term contract.

“The style of play in the NFL has certainly evolved in the 60 years I’ve been watching. But there are certain principles that have not changed, and those are: protect the quarterback, sack the quarterback, run the ball in key spots, and stop the run,” Gettleman told the Boston Globe this week. “Those are key points, basic principles, and they have not changed.

“When you build a team, on offense, about the quarterback, it’s about the offensive line and it’s about touchdown scorers. “Saquon Barkley is a touchdown scorer from anywhere on the field. And, oh by the way, via land or air, he can be in the army or he can be in the air force. You can’t put that in an analytic formula. I know that every time Saquon touches the ball. There aren’t a ton of those guys, they’re rare.”

Barkley is a very talented player when healthy, but current Giants general manager Joe Schoen doesn’t subscribe to the same ideology as Gettleman. For him, there was a limit to what you can pay a running back and Barkley found that out this offseason.

Although he was seeking a long-term contract, the Giants drew a line in the sand and would not cross it. Ultimately, the two sides settled on an altered franchise tag — one year for up to $11 million total ($909,000 in added incentives).

Barkley is currently missing times due to an ankle sprain and dropped two passes (both leading to interceptions) over the first two games of the season.

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