Tag: Jerry Reese

Cardinals interviewed former Giants GM Jerry Reese for vacant GM position

Of the many candidates surfacing to replace Steve Keim, Reese is the only one who has been a general manager before.

The Arizona Cardinals have been busy looking for a new general manager to replace Steve Keim, who stepped away from the position after 10 years to focus on his health. He had been on a health-related leave of absence for the last month.

Several candidates to replace him have come up. Almost all are men who have not yet been a general manager.

One has a very nice resume. According Jim Trotter, the Cardinals were to interview former New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese.

Reese, who has been out of the league since 2017, was sort of the equivalent to Steve Keim for the Giants. He spent 23 years, his entire NFL career, with the Giants, working his was up from college scout all the way up to general manager. He held the position from 2007-2017 and the Giants won two championships in that time.

Of the known candidates the Cardinals have interviewed or will interview, Reese is the only one who has previously been a GM.

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Ex-Giant Jerry Reese interviews for Cardinals’ GM job

Former New York Giants GM Jerry Reese has interviewed for the Arizona Cardinals’ vacant GM position.

Former New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese is drawing consideration from the Arizona Cardinals for their vacant GM job. The 59-year-old was officially interviewed on Tuesday.

Reese served as an assistant coach at UT-Martin for eight years before he broke into the NFL with the New York Giants in 1994. He spent his first four years with the team as a college scout before becoming a pro scout. In 2004, Reese was promoted to director of player personnel and in 2007, was hired as the team’s general manager.

At the time of his hiring, Reese became just the third Black GM in NFL history. That same year, he became the first Black GM to win a Super Bowl.

Four years later, as Giants fans likely recall, Reese won a second Super Bowl title when New York again defeated the New England Patriots.

Things began to sour after that, however. The Giants’ downfall was swift and Reese got caught up in the current. He, alongside then-head coach Ben McAdoo, were fired midway through the 2017 season. There was no goodbye, no farewell party, or anything to acknowledge Reese’s tenure — just an adios and good luck.

Since being fired by the Giants, Reese, who was groomed under Ernie Accorsi, has rarely resurfaced for air. He interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ vacant GM position in 2021 and drew brief interest from the Atlanta Falcons. He also interviewed for the Pittsburgh Steelers GM last March.

Reese has spent the past six years quietly living on a farm in rural Tennessee, but perhaps a return is imminent. Reese is both a qualified and deserving executive. It’s well past time he received a second chance.

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Ex-Giants VP accuses team of ‘inherent and unconscious’ racial biases

Former New York Giants VP Marc Ross says the team and many other NFL teams have “inherent and unconscious” racial biases.

The New York Giants are one of 13 NFL teams that have never hired a Black head coach. That social issue was compounded earlier this year when they passed on Brian Flores in favor of Brian Daboll.

Flores, who allegedly found out he had been passed over during a texting snafu with Bill Belichick, later filed a lawsuit against the Giants, the NFL and several other teams.

The lawsuit alleges the Giants’ interview process was a “sham” at that Flores was simply used to satisfy The Rooney Rule.

True or false, the optics of the messy hire and their lack of history with Black head coaches doesn’t reflect well for the Giants. And that’s because of their “inherent and unconscious” racial bias, says former Giants vice president of evaluation Marc Ross.

“There’s inherent and unconscious biases,” Ross told The Washington Post. “I heard that tons when I did my GM interviews: ‘We thought you were amazing. You’re outstanding. You’ll be a GM one day. We just felt comfortable with this guy.’ . . . And I think Black candidates, Black coaches just don’t get that benefit of the doubt of ‘We feel more comfortable.’ Why not? Because these owners are used to being around certain people and they’re comfortable with certain people.”

Ross wasn’t necessarily singling the Giants out, but his comments did stem from questions about co-owner John Mara, who he believes prefers white candidates over Black candidates. But in the same breath, Ross said he doesn’t believe Mara is overtly racist.

“We strongly believe that racial diversity, including among our most senior coaching and executive ranks, makes us a stronger and better organization,” said team spokesman, Pat Hanlon. “John Mara’s leadership on the NFL’s Diversity Committee is a direct reflection of the organization’s commitment to creating more diversity within the Giants organization and the league as a whole.”

The Giants may not have hired a Black coach in their history, but dating back to the days of Wellington Mara, diversity was never an issue. They signed defensive back Emlen Tunnell in 1948 and he went on to become the first Black Hall of Famer in NFL history. He also later joined the Giants’ coaching staff.

In 1976, the Giants brought in Ronnie Barnes as an athletic training intern. Four years later, he became the first Black head athletic trainer in NFL history and he remains with the team today.

Then, in 1994, the Giants hired Jerry Reese as a college scout. He became the team’s general manager 2007 and the first Black GM to ever win a Super Bowl.

Still, although they are confident in their hiring practices, Mara recognizes the lack of diversity among their head coaches throughout history.

“It’s certainly something I’m aware of,” Mara told NJ Advance Media this week. “At the end of the day, we want to get the right person. I think we have a good, diverse group of candidates right now, and will make a decision based on who we think will be the best person to lead us in the future. But it was very important that we have a diverse group of candidates.”

Given how well the Brian Daboll era has started, it’s unlikely the Giants will be thrust into a head coaching search any time soon, so questions about their past will persist.

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Geno Smith dedicates win over Giants to Jerry Reese, Ben McAdoo

Seahawks QB Geno Smith says Sunday wasn’t a revenge game but did dedicate his win over the New York Giants to Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo.

Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New York Giants, 27-13, in Week 8 at Lumen Field and it was somewhat of a revenge game for the quarterback.

Smith, of course, started one game for the Giants in 2017, ending the 210-game iron man streak of future Hall of Famer Eli Manning. But that start came with severe consequences as general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo were fired in its aftermath.

Leading up to Sunday’s clash with the Giants, Smith made little of his time in New York. He said all the right things and avoided touchy topics but following the victory, that changed.

Although Smith said the game was not about revenge, he did dedicate it to the aforementioned Reese and McAdoo.

“I spent one year with the Giants. That year to me was like a blur and my life has moved on from them. I don’t have any remorse towards anyone there. In fact, to me, this game was for Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese. They believed in me,” Smith said, via ESPN.

“As far as any other thing, I don’t really care for it. I’m happy to be here in Seattle. It’s like a family here. It feels like home. And so I’m just enjoying my time here and continuing to work hard with these guys and just trying to be the best we can be.”

Smith has come on strong with the Seahawks, but his play wasn’t nearly up to par with the Giants. During his spot start, Smith was sacked three times, lost two fumbles and earned a QB Rating of just 40.6 in a 24-17 loss to the then-Oakland Raiders.

The same offensive issues that had plagued Manning that year also plagued Smith. And in starting Smith, the Giants failed to get a live-game evaluation of David Webb, who was a rookie third-round pick at the time.

McAdoo bungled the entire situation and did so disrespectfully. The team was 2-10 following that loss and the clock had run out on both Reese and McAdoo.

Giants co-owner John Mara later admitted that one of his worst mistakes was wasting the final years of Manning’s career. The spot start for Geno was at the peak of that failure.

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Eli Manning’s Super Bowl XLVI supporting cast was worst of any QB since 2010, data shows

New York Giants QB Eli Manning won Super Bowl XLVI with the worst supporting cast (analytically) of any team or quarterback since 2010.

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Bashing former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has become a cottage industry over the years, so much to the point that many are campaigning against his inevitable induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

For Giant fans, Eli is a lead-pipe cinch for Canton, finishing his career in the top 10 in many of the all-time passing categories such as passing yards, completions, consecutive games started and touchdown passes. He also never missed a game due to injury and, oh, almost forgot, he won two Super Bowls in which he was named MVP in both games.

Yet, the bashing continues.

Below is a stat that further illustrates how the Giants tried — and succeeded — to fail Manning during his career. The Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI was one of the worst rosters to ever win a Super Bowl.

So, if Eli was such a bum, how’d he pull it off?

Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory four years earlier, in 2007, which was the first year of Jerry Reese’s tenure as the general manager. Most of that team was contracted by his predecessor, Ernie Accorsi.

Reese managed to add some talent in his first several years through the draft and free agency but his drafts were largely fruitless, leaving the Giants with little depth.

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Marc Ross: Giants discovered Jason Pierre-Paul by accident

Marc Ross admits the New York Giants discovered Jason Pierre-Paul very much by mistake and knew he’d excel before much of the NFL world did.

Many New York Giants fans cringe when they think back to the Jerry Reese era, mainly because of the many dry drafts and dubious decisions made late in his tenure as the general manager.

A lot of those draft decisions were made by Reese’s vice president of player evaluation and director of college scouting, Marc Ross. Let’s begin by saying that Ross is responsible for the Giants drafting such players as Odell Beckham Jr., Hakeem Nicks, Landon Collins, Terrell Thomas, Evan Engram, Justin Pugh and Sterling Shepard.

One player Ross admits he lucked into is defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who the Giants ended up selecting with the 15th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft.

Ross was scouting South Florida defensive lineman George Selvie when he stumbled upon a kid who was playing at another level than the other 21 players on the field. It wasn’t Selvie, who Ross believed to have recorded 16.5 sacks and 22 tackles for a loss.

“I’m watching tape and this number 90 just keeps jumping off the tape,” Ross said on WJFK’s Zach Brook’s Upon Further Review podcast on Monday. “I had to keep checking the chart. I’m supposed to be watching George Selvie, he was 95, but this 90 guy…I kept looking up and thinking ‘Damn, I must be looking at the wrong guy.’ But it was JPP.

“He had just gotten to South Florida and was kind of an unknown. He had went to junior college, a couple different junior colleges and went to South Florida.”

Ross reported back to Reese that he may have a find on his hand.

“I asked, ‘What’s up with this guy?'” Ross said. “And sure enough, he just kept getting better and better throughout the year, and they played Rutgers later in the year, and I brought our GM at the time Jerry Reese and told him ‘You gotta come see this guy.'”

By year’s end, the word was out on JPP. The Giants’ no longer had a sleeper on their hands. They had to use their first-round pick on him. Pierre-Paul had a meteoric start to his NFL career, making the Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2012 and helped lead the Giants to a Super Bowl championship.

JPP was eventually traded to Tampa Bay after several injury-laden seasons and recently earned another Pro Bowl berth and Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers.

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Panthers interview 2 more GM candidates, decision expected this week

The Carolina Panthers are almost ready to name a successor to former general manager Marty Hurney.

The Carolina Panthers are almost ready to name a successor to former general manager Marty Hurney. Over the last couple of weeks, the team has interviewed over a dozen candidates, including two more on Monday. The Panthers announced that they spoke with Seahawks VP of football operations Scott Fitterer and Steelers VP of football and business administration Omar Khan, bringing the total to 15 candidates.

According to Darin Gantt’s rundown of the list of people who have interviewed for the job, a hire is expected this week.

A couple candidates have dropped out – Nick Caserio was hired by the Texans and Ed Dodds decided to withdraw his name from consideration. The rest are still in the running, though. Here is that list:

Chiefs Director of football administration Brandt Tills
Chiefs Assistant director of player personnel Ryan Poles
49ers VP player of personnel Adam Peters
Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly
Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland
Browns VP of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Former Giants GM Jerry Reese
Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen
Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort
Steelers VP of football and business administration Omar Khan
Seahawks VP of football operations Scott Fitterer
Panthers director of player personnel Pat Stewart
Panthers salary cap manager Samir Suleiman

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Panthers GM search: Tracking candidate meetings and interview requests

Panthers GM search: Tracking candidate meetings and interview requests.

The Carolina Panthers have played every game on their schedule, resulting in another disappointing 5-11 season. Whoever the next general manager is, they’ll have their work cut out for them.

Over the last few days, the team has been reported to be interested in several candidates for Marty Hurney’s former job. On this page we will keep track of media reports regarding who they’re meeting with or are requesting interviews with.

Former Giants GM Jerry Reese

49ers VP of Player Personnel Adam Peters

Chiefs assistant director of player personnel Ryan Poles

Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland

Nick Caserio, Joe Schoen, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds

We will update this page with more reports as they come in.

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Report: Panthers ‘lining up’ interview with Jerry Reese for GM opening

According to some joint reporting at NFL.com, the team is “lining up” an interview with former Giants general manager Jerry Reese.

After today’s game, the next order of business for the Panthers is finding a new general manager to replace Marty Hurney. We haven’t heard much on this front save speculation for the last couple of weeks. Today, there’s some actual news to report.

According to some joint reporting at NFL.com, the team is “lining up” an interview with former Giants general manager Jerry Reese.

Reese’s entire career as an executive in the NFL has been with the Giants’ organization. After seven years as an assistant coach at UT-Martin, Reese was first hired by the Giants in 1994 as a College scout. He graduated to Pro scout in 1997, then to Director of player personnel in 2004. He became their GM in 2007 and held the job until 2017.

The team had some considerable success during Reese’s run, including improbable Super Bowl victories over two of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s best Patriots teams in 2007 and 2011.

Drafting is of course a team effort but Reese made some solid picks in his time, especially defensive linemen Jason Pierre-Paul and Linval Joseph (2010), cornerback Prince Amukamara (2011), wide receiver Odell Beckham (2014) and safety Landon Collins (2015). As with any GM he also had some notable misses, including offensive tackle Ereck Flowers (2015).

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Report: Jerry Reese interviews with Jaguars for vacant GM position

Former New York Giants GM Jerry Reese recently interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their vacant general manager position.

Former New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese recently interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their vacant GM position and could be in line to receive several more interviews in the coming weeks.

Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report that Reese is a “name to watch” for various teams currently seeking a new GM.

Former Giants GM Jerry Reese has already interviewed with the Jaguars, according to sources informed of last week’s meeting, and Reese is a name to watch as at least five other teams go about their searches for GMs in the coming weeks.

Reese’s interview with Jacksonville is believed to be the first of their GM search and a potential hire would provide head coach Matt Rhule some level of familiarity.

Rhule was an assistant with the Giants in 2012 and he developed a friendly relationship with Reese, which could help pave the way to a reunion in Jacksonville.

Reese has remained very much out of the public eye since his firing in 2017. After spending several hours saying goodbye to those in East Rutherford, Reese vanished from view, turning down several podcast and media-related positions.

“I told him I have no doubt he would get another shot with another franchise,” Giants co-owner John Mara said at the press conference announcing Reese’s firing, “and that at some point in time I’m going to be answering questions about why I got rid of him in the first place.”

Prior to the Las Vegas Raiders hiring Mike Mayock as their GM in 2019, Reese declined an interview with the team.

Reese served 11 years as Giants general manager and won two Super Bowl titles during his tenure, compiling a 91-85 regular season record over that span.

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