New York Giants: Jerry Reese leaves complicated legacy

Ousted New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese lost more than he won, but he also has two of the franchise’s biggest victories on his resume.

When New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese banked on left tackle Ereck Flowers and others already on the roster to form a respectable, if not talented, offensive line earlier this year, he essentially bet his job on that decision. Quarterback Eli Manning, who possesses mobility similar to a tree as Mike Francesa recently joked, needed better from his front line than what that unit provided in 2016, and Reese chose to leave things as is, for the most part, rather than bolster the line via free agency and the draft.

It’s now the first week of December, and both Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo have been relieved of their duties. Life comes at you fast, teaches the Internet meme, and a pair of individuals who helped the Giants win 11 games and earn a playoff berth less than a year ago are currently unemployed. Giants fans who are prisoners of the moment are reacting as expected and mentioning everything Reese got wrong over the years, particularly since the club won its last Super Bowl back in February 2012.

Critics claim Reese inherited the 2007 Giants squad that toppled the undefeated New England Patriots and won Super Bowl XLII. They’d suggest Manning carried Reese to a pair of championships rather than the opposite. The anti-Reese camp would tell all who would listen that the Giants should’ve parted ways with him at least a year ago, if not sooner, and they’d say Reese did more harm than good for the franchise over the past five years.

The dumpster-fire state of the current Giants makes it easy to forget Reese’s positive contributions, from his early days as a scout all the way to becoming general manager in early 2007. Reese’s ’07 draft class, one he absolutely deserves credit for to this day, remains a thing of beauty. The Giants don’t win the Super Bowl in February 2008 without Reese and his staff drafting Aaron Ross, Steve Smith, Jay Alford, Zak DeOssie, Kevin Boss and Ahmad Bradshaw.

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Reese drafted Kenny Phillips, Terrell Thomas and Mario Manningham. He acquired Hakeem Nicks and Will Beatty. He took Jason Pierre-Paul when logic suggested the Giants didn’t require further talent on the defensive line at the time. He signed Victor Cruz. He drafted Odell Beckham Jr.. He formulated a defense capable of carrying a team to the playoffs, and beyond, in 2016. Reese’s roster-building strategies for the 2017 campaign that became a disaster starting this past August don’t erase every correct decision — and there were plenty — he made over a decade.

Remember, also, that the marriage between Reese and McAdoo was arranged because of the “Giants Way™” and ownership’s desire to name Tom Coughlin’s successor before the two-time champion coach was ready to hang his headset up for good. One can only guess what Reese would’ve achieved over the final three years of his New York tenure had he been presented the final say on coaching decisions starting in December 2015.

With Reese in the front office, the Giants paced to qualify for postseason tournaments four times and win two Super Bowl championships in a decade. Just about every franchise that isn’t the New England Patriots would take that record in a heartbeat. Fans of the New York Jets may legitimately climb over hot coals to touch even a taste of such success.

Change was needed. That can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. Reese blew first rounds of drafts. He missed opportunities to improve the Giants and surround Manning with the protection he needed when the offense had the goods, on paper, to do more than participate in a single playoff game. Reese isn’t to blame for the injury bug that plagued the Giants this year, but the team’s plummet down the overall league standings was the final nail in his Big Blue coffin.

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Reese is neither a master architect who built a dynasty, nor is he some bumbling fool who happened to accidentally fall into a pair of championship rosters. His legacy, one fans will learn to appreciate, in time, lies somewhere between those extremes. Be mad at Reese to your heart’s content, Giants fan. He let you down. But don’t pretend you would’ve gone to those Super Bowl parades without him.