“Feathers ruffled” by Giants’ hiring of Dave Gettleman — report

The New York Giants never really opened their search for a general manager when they hired Dave Gettleman. Sure, they interviewed Louis Riddick. He was, though, the only candidate from outside the organization to receive an interview.

The way the Giants did that apparently did not sit well with some around the NFL, per Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst:

Multiple sources tell me there were a lot of feathers ruffled when the New York Giants hired Dave Gettleman as their general manager.

Sources feel Gettleman was the favorite of former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi and was hired based on his previous tenure and familiarity with the organization rather than the franchise doing an exhaustive search for the best person for the job.

I’m told one of the reasons Gettleman was released by Carolina was that he wasn’t a people person and really did not try to ingratiate with enough members of the organization.

Valentine’s View

The fix was pretty much in for Gettleman to get the Giants’ GM job the moment John Mara announced that former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi would be consulting in the search. Accorsi and Gettleman worked together for several years with the Giants. Accorsi recommended Jerry Reese to replace him, then helped place Gettleman as GM with the Carolina Panthers. You had to know Accorsi was going to do everything he could to convince Giants’ ownership that it was Gettleman’s turn in New York.

The fact that the Giants did not truly open up their search bothered some in the fan base. It apparently also bothered some in NFL circles. It’s obvious why. It meant that lots of qualified candidates did not get a chance to sell themselves to the Giants.

The Giants chose the devil they knew over the devil they didn’t know. Gettleman is different than Reese, there is no doubt. Like it or not, it’s done and the only thing to do now is wait and see if it works.