The New York Giants are at an all-time low. Or at least that’s how co-owner John Mara currently views things.
“I kept thinking during the season that we had hit rock bottom and then each week it got a little worse. Honestly, I’m not proud of saying this, but if I’m going to be 100 percent honest, I would have to say the answer is yes,” Mara told reporters when asked if this is the most embarrassed he’s ever been.
That statement came on the heels of Dave Gettleman’s “retirement” and Joe Judge’s termination as head coach.
It was just the latest of a seemingly endless overhaul for the Giants, but this time they are committed to doing things right. And in an effort to see that through, Mara and his fellow co-owner, Steve Tisch, are apparently offering all general manager candidates carte blanche.
The most encouraging thing to take from this Giants GM search: From what I've heard, they are offering carte blanche to candidates to reshape the organization. The Giants way of operating is about to change drastically no matter who is hired.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) January 19, 2022
That’s an encouraging step for the Giants if it’s true. However, despite his defiant denial that nepotism exists within the organization, a recent article from Dan Duggan of The Athletic paints an ugly picture.
In Duggan’s article, several former members of the front office and a few scouts sound off about Chris Mara’s role. And while they don’t attack him on a personal level, it’s made abundantly clear that Chris has much more “authority” than John claims.
It didn’t sit well with some colleagues when Chris Mara, a partner in Starlight Racing, left the Giants’ war room during the third day of the 2015 draft to watch his horse run in the Kentucky Derby. New York made one pick during Mara’s flight to Louisville and another after he arrived at Churchill Downs. “Look, if we were in the first or second round today, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Mara told a Sports Illustrated reporter chronicling his double duty.
“Is that really your priority over what we’re doing here in the draft?” a former member of the front office said. “It’s something that all the other guys just couldn’t do.”
Chris doesn’t go on the road to scout college games during the fall. His in-person scouting is typically limited to postseason all-star games, the scouting combine and college pro days. According to multiple current members of the organization, he has been less hands-on in recent years.
“I think he figures, ‘[Expletive] it, I’ll come around when I want to,’” a former Giants coach said. “He’s not answering to anybody.”
If the Giants are truly offering carte blanche to turn the organization around, that’s a legitimately positive step. But if that does not include the ability to fire and/or reassign Chris Mara, Tim McDonnell, Jonathan Tisch and Charles Tisch, then it’s not really “carte blanche,” is it?
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