Giants GM search: Adam Peters, Ran Carthon, and what we know so far

The New York Giants’ search for a general manager restarts on Monday after a Sunday day of rest. Let’s update what we know, or at least think we might know.

49ers day on tap

A pair of intriguing San Francisco 49ers executives will interview virtually with the Giants on Monday, Assistant GM Adam Peters and Director of Player Personnel Ran Carthon.

Adam Peters

The 49ers appear to be deathly afraid of losing their assistant GM during this hiring cycle.

Kyle Posey of SB Nation’s Niners Nation told that it’s “widely known around these parts” that it is Peters running the 49ers highly successful drafts while GM John Lynch is more of a “talking media puppet” who functions as the face of the franchise.

“Everybody loves Peters,” Posey said. “Many are surprised he’s been around this long. He’s the one making the picks not so much Lynch.”

Peters has worked for the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and 49ers in an 18-year NFL career. He joined the 49ers in 2017 as vice president of player personnel and was promoted to assistant GM in February of 2021.

There are even those who think the 49ers should push Lynch aside and promote Peters to keep him.

“Peters is widely respected around the NFL as a talent evaluator, and it was the respect from trusted confidants such as Bill Belichick and John Elway that convinced 49ers GM John Lynch to hire him away from the Denver Broncos as vice president of player personnel in 2017 without an official interview. With the Giants, Vikings and Bears looking to fill the roles of GM and head coach, could one of them swoop in and hire Peters ... And the 49ers shouldn’t let it happen.”

Ran Carthon

Carthon, 40, came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent running back for the Colts and Lions from 2004 to 2006. He became a scout for the Atlanta Falcons. Carthon was hired by the Los Angeles Rams (then St. Louis Rams) in 2012 as their director of player personnel. In 2017, he was hired by the San Francisco 49ers to be their director of pro personnel.

His actual name is Arandric Kornell Carthon, and he is the son of former Giants fullback Maurice Carthon.

Posey told me that while Carthon might not be as well-known as Peters, the football community knows how talented he is.

“The smart football folks think he deserves more credit than he’s getting and will kill it once he gets a chance at GM,” Posey said.

Carthon is not hiding his desire to be a GM.

“That’s the goal in the grand scheme of things to one day hold that position,” Carthon said in an interview earlier this season. “It’s kind of hard, because you got to keep the main thing the main thing, and just focus on doing what I can do to help make our club better and give us a chance to win each Sunday while maintaining the ultimate goal, which is to ultimately lead a team myself.”

What has happened so far

The Giants have interviewed seven candidates:

Joe Schoen, Buffalo Bills assistant GM
Joe Hortiz, Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel
Adrian Wilson, Arizona Cardinals vice president of pro personnel
Quentin Harris, Cardinals vice president of player personnel
Ryan Poles, Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel
Monti Ossenfort, Tennessee Titans director of player personnel
Ryan Cowden, Titans vice president of player personnel

Leaders in the clubhouse

Big Blue View can’t tap into the Zoom calls between John Mara, Steve Tisch, Chris Mara and the candidates. All we can do is cull together what has been reported from some other places and tie that in with the tidbits of information we have been able to extract on our own.

Who are the leaders in the clubhouse? Entering Monday, best guess is Schoen, Hortiz, Poles and maybe Ossenfort. Those are not listed in any particular order.

Schoen was said to have “crushed” his interview with the Giants. If hired, Schoen might be able to bring Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to New York with him. Schoen and Daboll have both already interview with the Chicago Bears for GM and head-coaching vacancies there.

Hortiz comes from a Ravens organization that has become the envy of many around the league for their consistent success on the personnel side. Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post wrote:

There was a noticeable buzz within the organization Saturday, when all attention surrounding the Giants’ general manager vacancy turned to Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz’s interview. The Ravens represent what the Giants once were and want to be again — a stable hierarchy built on longevity and internal promotions — thus a deep curiosity exists in East Rutherford for their model of operation.

Since 2009, when Hortiz’s role expanded, the Ravens have drafted 16 Pro Bowlers and six First-Team All-Pros. The Giants have drafted six Pro Bowlers and two First-Team All-Pros despite routinely having the better draft position. Just two of the Giants’ 10 eligible first-rounders have signed second contracts, while three of the Ravens’ nine eligible first-rounders have been retained.

Hortiz is also expected to interview with the Bears.

Don’t discount Poles, the 36-year-old rising star in the Kansa City organization. One source told me that he believes the Giants “want to hire an Andy Reid guy.” Reid, of course, is the Chiefs head coach. Poles is also expected to interview with the Minnesota Vikings.