The Giants’ 2020 season officially is over, and the evaluation process is underway.
One move is a no-brainer –keep Head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman.
There may be a few morons on talk radio that would call for Judge’s firing after his first year with a 6-10 record. Maybe those were the same people who broke into the Capitol.
All indications point to Judge being the Giants’ most stable coach since Tom Coughlin.
Judge will win. Give him time and the players.
That’s when Gettlemam comes in, and the situation gets dicey.
Owner John Mara gave Gettleman the nod for 2021 this week, after stating that his “batting average” needed to improve when Judge was hired last year.
Apparently it has.
Judge and Gettlemam are in this together to reach the next level, rather sooner than later.
Gettleman’s earlier flopped signings, drafts and trades for Jonathan Stewart — a better locker room card player than a running back — Alec Ogletree, BJ Goodson, DeAndre Baker and the presumed bad trade of Odell Beckham along with staying with Eli Manning too long among other moves that left him in the frying pan with fans.
That was then.
Over the past year, Gettleman has risen from the traitor to the savior.
The Giants’ fan base should be swayed to give Gettleman another chance, despite a 15-33 record after three years.
Strongly take into account his performance this season that helped the team to a promising 5-3 finish down the stretch.
Gettleman had a fantastic draft this past spring that produced Andrew Thomas, Matt Peart, Shane Lemeiux, Xavier McKinney, Darnay Holmes, Cam Brown, and Tae Crowder — the last pick in the draft — all of whom made a significant impact.
He hit a home run with the signings of Kyle Fackrell, Blake Martinez, Logan Ryan, and Graham Gano.
Jabrill Peppers and Delvin Tomlinson eventually emerged from the Beckham trade, which finally has been forgotten.
He also gets a check in the right column for the firing of Pat Shurmur after it looked like a good move at the time.
Mara urged the fanbase to be patient as he has seen “progress.”
Gettleman responded with a pledge to get quarterback Daniel Jones some playmaker wide receivers on the free-agent market or in the draft. Both should be options with the Giants having the 11th pick this April.
He will have to decide on the fate of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who is the current pinata for the struggling offense that produced a second-last 17.5 points per game.
Gettleman has an ace in the hole with the return of ultimate weapon Saqoun Barkley, who Mara hinted on “keeping him a Giant for a long time.”
That soon will be an interesting process for Gettleman and Mara.
However, Judge’s rise and the team’s surge will keep the pressure on Gettleman next fall. It should not be playoffs or bust in 2021, but the Giants have to be knocking on the door.
The Giants have their coach and their GM.
Their players are not that far away from being a playoff team.