(Neil Miller/Sportsday Wire)
A culture change is needed.
And needed in the worse way.
For the past 37 years, the New York Football Giants have been run with the same string of management, which dated back to when then Commissioner Pete Rozelle offered the name of George Young to the Mara family.
With four Super Bowl victories and more winning seasons than losing ones on the record, no one is saying it wasn’t a success. In fact, Young, Ernie Accorsi, and now Jerry Reese built the Giants into one of the model franchises in the NFL.
But it’s time for a change.
No matter what happens on Sunday, the Giants will finish with another losing record and four years out of the playoffs since winning Super Bowl XLVI. Before this season, John Mara put both coach Tom Coughlin and Reese on notice, so if Coughlin goes, so should Reese. There’s plenty of blame to go around and both should pay the price for the mediocrity.
Back in 2010, the Mets did this by dismissing Omar Minaya – the last of the Frank Cashen chain – and went outside to bring in Sandy Alderson.
It took five years for Alderson’s vision to bear fruit, but this is not baseball and if you look at the Jets as an example, the Giants could be turned around quickly.
Mara needs to make a total change here. Reese was Accorsi’s hand pick successor and Coughlin was hired by Mara’s father. The Giants president can now bring in his own GM and own coach by going outside the organization and creating his own culture.
It’s not Mara’s style to make any moves this week. He’s not going to whack Coughlin like the Eagles just did to Chip Kelly. And nor should he.
Remember though, Coughlin didn’t do the poor drafting, Reese did, which made the Giants thin at a number of positions this season.
But it was Coughlin, who orchestrated the fourth quarter meltdowns that cost the Giants at least four games and he didn’t stop Odell Beckham, Jr. two weeks ago against the Panthers.
If just two of those fourth quarter meltdowns do the other way, we wouldn’t be having this discussing right now.
Coughlin said today he didn’t speak to Mara as of yet and is just focused on this week.
“To be honest, this is the 16th game of the season and that’s where I’m focused. I won’t let myself go in those other directions because we have a job to do, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Coughlin said. “All these other issues will clear up in time, but not before then. Okay, the questions, I understand what you’re trying to get at. That’s not my position to say that. I am preparing for this game and that’s the best I can do.”
Nobody would expect any less from Coughlin, but no matter what happens, a decisive move needs to be made on Monday or Tuesday.
For the betterment of the organization, it’s time for a complete overhaul.
Both Coughlin and Reese have to go.
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