The Big Lead

Jay Glazer: Dave Gettleman Has One Year to Turn Around the Giants

By Ryan Phillips

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman at the NFL Scouting Combine
New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman at the NFL Scouting Combine / Michael Hickey/Getty Images
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Jay Glazer claims New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has one season to turn the franchise around or he'll be gone, as reported in his weekly NFL mailbag column for The Athletic.

Here's what he said when asked a question about Gettleman's future with the Giants and how close he was to retiring before this offseason:

"I don’t know if he’ll end up retiring but yeah, I think he was close this year. He made a case to ownership to come back. He presented a plan for how he’ll turn it around in a year. That needs to happen. If it doesn’t happen, he’ll be gone and rightfully so. If he doesn’t follow through, it’s time to go. I would hope that Gettleman has also learned a bit about himself and his interactions with people during this process. Anytime you’re on the hot seat, you have to look inside yourself and say, “What’s my responsibility in this?” and make changes."

- Jay Glazer

This is a dangerous spot for the Giants to be in. When general managers are on the hot seat, they tend to make rash decisions to help the upcoming season, not decisions that are good for the long-term health of the franchise. When a franchise thinks in one-year segments, it can often screw itself for the near and far future.

Gettleman needs to show progress in 2020. He has the fourth pick in the draft. Normally, that would be a great spot for him to grab a franchise offensive tackle who could grow with young quarterback Daniel Jones. But if the general manager has his back against the wall, he could make a selection that will provide instant results and excitement -- like, say, a receiver -- when something solid and long-term would be smarter.

I'm not saying Gettleman will make a move like that, but when GMs feel the pressure they tend to swing for the fences, rather than making sound, smart decisions.

We'll see how this plays out for the Giants, but coming off a 4-12 season with a first-time head coach (Joe Judge, and a second-year quarterback, 2020 could be a disaster.