Fan Friday Mailbag: What Happens if the Giants Record Doesn't Improve?

From Bruce F.:

After reviewing the Giants' remaining schedule and given their current level of play, they may finish the year with a 3-13 record. (Maybe they beat Miami?) Does Dave Gettleman survive as GM if the team finishes with a worse record than last year?

His fixes for a poor O-line have fallen short of the mark, and his free-agent signings have, especially at the linebacker position, been underwhelming at best. Betting on an aging, static Eli behind a subpar O-line was a bad choice, as was not drafting young talent for the O-line and the linebacker position.

Simply put, does John Mara allow Dave Gettleman to remain as GM if this season finishes with fewer wins than last year?

Hi Bruce. I do think Dave Gettleman will be back next year. It took several years for the Giants franchise to fall into its current state of disarray. And it's going to take multiple years for it to come out from under the weight of its implosion.

Gettleman, I think, is going to get at least one more year. You look at this year, and you have a relatively young defense and a rookie quarterback who is trying to keep his head above water (and a quarterback that I'm not convinced they wanted to toss into the deep end of the pool as quickly as they did.)

With at least another solid draft that includes an offensive tackle, a linebacker, and another solid defensive lineman, I do think the Giants have the pieces in place to turn things around.

But realistically, I think anyone who thought this year's team would be a playoff group set the bar a little too high. The Giants might not want to admit it, but they've been in rebuild mode now since Gettleman took over. And as I said, I do think he gets at least one more year to put the finishing touches on the roster.

From "Big Guy:"

I feel we are approaching a point of no return. Dave Gettleman's time has passed with that recent trade with the Jets. The HC has not matured to a level of a professional leader of a football team. I give it two more game losses for heads to roll.

Mr. Mara must take control of dismissing all in management and select young football execs from other teams to manage this team. The rebuild has taken a pause and now needs a major correction. I see a few more years of futility unless the course correction occurs. Do you agree?

I'm going to disagree with you here. I hear the frustration in your email, and I understand it. But I'm going to remind you of the fact that it took YEARS for the Giants to deteriorate, and it will take multiple years for them to fix all the damage that was done under the previous regime.

As I wrote above, Dave Gettleman, I believe, is going to get at least three years to fix this mess. And contrary to popular belief, he's done a better job in that he's fixed the salary cap (which was a mess), and he's re-stocked the cupboard with serviceable draft picks where there once was none.

I'm not sure how you can make such a snap judgment on the Leonard Williams trade. Because of the draft picks he gave up? After two years, Gettleman has established a pattern. He uses picks to trade up to get guys he wants, something Jerry Reese rarely, if ever, did during his tenure as general manager.

For all those moaning about the Giants having surrendered a third-round pick to get Leonard Williams, they are projected to get a third-round comp pick after losing Landon Collins.

And if for some reason the Giants don't re-sign Williams after this year, they'd likely be in line the following year for a comp pick equivalent to what they're sending to the Jets. So no, this armchair GM doesn't quite see the transaction as malpractice as some of the other armchair GMs out there.

Now, where I will agree with you is with the coaching staff. I want Pat Shurmur to succeed here because, contrary to popular belief, it takes a lot more work to write about a losing team than it does a winner.

But there are some things I've seen so far with Shurmur that are red flags--I'll explain what in my 1st-and-10 column that drops over the weekend. With that said, I still believe Shurmur is going to get at least one more year to turn things around.

If, however, they finish with a worse record than last year, I do think you're going to see some changes on the coaching staff. But I don't think you're going to see a massive overhaul so soon.

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