New York Giants: Jerry Reese Off the Hot Seat (For Now)

New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese went from being on the hot seat to within reach of a third Super Bowl championship.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and general manager Jerry Reese are two of the most polarizing figures in recent franchise history. At this point, it’s safe to say Manning will forever be the most unappreciated player to ever feature for the Giants among certain fans who have decided they’re going to take him for granted unless he wins one more championship because, apparently, a pair of Super Bowl rings isn’t enough these days.

Reese, meanwhile, fell out of favor with some New York fans and also football observers roughly four years after he helped the Giants win a second title ( a second title in four years, no less) under his watch. As explained by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, Reese dropped to No. 21 in Rotoworld’s GM rankings posted last April. This occurred after the Giants missed the playoffs a fourth-straight season.

What’s interesting about those rankings is they went public roughly one month after Reese had begun to rebuild New York’s defense. Per ESPN, the Giants re-signed defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul to a one-year contract, and the club also landed defensive end Olivier Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Janoris Jenkins early in free agency. Those transactions coupled with other moves helped the Giants make a return to the playoffs this past January.

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Reese and his staff have been plenty busy since even before the start of the recent NFL year. The Giants wisely used the franchise tag to keep Pierre-Paul, and the club later signed him to a four-year deal that offered the team some much-needed cap space as Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News wrote. New York also signed veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall to serve as a lengthy option to play alongside Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard, and the Giants improved at quarterback by acquiring Geno Smith to serve as Manning’s backup.

Granted, Reese has not been a perfect executive during his tenure, as the Giants have routinely missed the playoffs since he took over as GM before the start of the 2007 season. The problem with any and all hot takes calling for Reese to lose his job is that he’s proven he can build a pair of championship rosters in less than a decade.

Reese’s draft history (via Pro-Football-Reference.com) has been filled with hits and misses, but his positive selections far outweigh his miscues once you realize the Giants and New England Patriots are the only two teams to have won more than one Super Bowl championship since February 2008.

His 2007 draft class remains a thing of beauty and one of the best in franchise history. That class included cornerback Aaron Ross, receiver Steve Smith, defensive tackle Jay Alford, linebacker/long snapper Zak DeOssie, tight end Kevin Boss and running back Ahmad Bradshaw. Each of those players helped the Giants win the Super Bowl as rookies.

Reese landed defensive backs Kenny Phillips and Terrell Thomas and also a wideout named Mario Manningham in 2008. That Manningham picked worked out alright for the Giants in the end:

Hakeem Nicks, Will Beatty, Pierre-Paul, Linval Joseph, Prince Amukamara, Justin Pugh and Johnathan Hankins were all on Reese’s draft resume before 2014. That year, Reese used a first-round pick on Beckham, a player with generational talent who has made a mockery of NFL records during the early stages of his career.

Safety Landon Collins, drafted in 2015, was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate his second year in the pros. Eli Apple, Sterling Shepard and Paul Perkins all showed promise as rookies this past season. Imagine what could have been for the Giants had Brandon Scherff still been on the draft board when the Giants selected Ereck Flowers two springs ago.

Ungrateful Big Blue supporters should take a quick spin around the NFL and examine the states of other teams. Fans of the Cleveland Browns may offer to sell their souls for New York’s last ten draft classes. The San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and Jets are three teams that are years—plural—away from being anywhere close to where the Giants are as of the third Tuesday of March.

Yes, Reese’s final grade for 2017 will be determined by the team’s on-the-field play, but he’s done just about everything he can do to make the Giants an immediate contender. Earlier this month, Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News wrote that New York signing Marshall “could make the Giants the NFC East front-runners,” while Elliot Harrison of NFL.com suggested last week the Giants are the best team in the division.

A lot can and will happen over the next nine months. Injuries, fatigue, unforeseen setbacks, good luck and misfortune will all affect the Giants even before we check our Christmas lists twice. Reese shouldn’t be blamed if things go wrong later this year, although history suggests fans will feel otherwise if the Giants fail to impress during the second half of 2017.

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