Giants Making Big Mistake Retaining Reese
By Michael Stewart
With the recent resignation of Tom Coughlin this week, it appears that the Giants ownership is giving GM Jerry Reese a vote confidence and his pink slip. This is Reese’s 9th season as the Giants GM and his track record in the draft room is not very good. “Between 2008 to 2013”; Reese has accounted for 31 out of the 43 players drafted as either under achievers or busts. Coughlin’s so-called resignation and retaining Reese also points out that the ownership views this season 6-10 record mostly on the shoulders of Coughlin and not Reese.
Missing the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season should be a share responsibility on both Reese and Coughlin; and both should have been making farewell speeches this week. The Giants are in a very vulnerable position moving forward as this team has a lot of holes to fill.
Based on Reese’s track record, he is not the man who will turn the Giants around. How many opportunities should the Giants ownership give Reese to make magic and turn the Giants into a playoff contender. How many bad draft picks and personnel decisions should the Giants ownership allow Reese to make before they realize that he is not the right man for the job?
Last off season, Reese demonstrated his lack of judgment by signing players like J.T Thomas, Jonathan Casillas and Shane Vereen to multi-year contracts. After year one, just how value and production did the Giants get from these four players? I could reflect further on previous years, but I think you get the point. This off season is very important to the Giants success moving forward; and having Reese at the helm is like relying on a broken clock to tell time. With Reese in charge, expect him to do the following in the off season:
- Draft badly overall
- Sign an average free agent, top free agent $$$
Final thoughts: I wrote an article before the start of the 2016-16 season stating that this year will be a make or break season for the Giants. Regrettably, my worst nightmare has come true as the Giants are taking steps back rather than forward under Reese. Hopefully; the Mara family re-considers their stance on Reese and decides to let him go as well. The Giants need to regroup and infuse flesh blood and ideas to into this organization.