Giants co-owner John Mara, head coach Tom Coughlin, and general manager Jerry Reese all spoke to reporters today in New York, and touched on a few notable topics along the way. Here’s a round-up of some of the highlights from the presser, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (all Twitter links):
John Mara:
- Mara stressed that he still believes in Coughlin, Reese, and the rest of the staff, despite disappointing results on the field in the last two seasons.
- While Mara said the fates of the coaching assistants will ultimately be Coughlin’s decision, he conceded that “the defense did not play well.”
- The Giants typically won’t let a coach head into the final year of his contract without an extension, but Mara hasn’t yet decided whether or not he’ll extend Coughlin’s deal, which expires after the 2015 campaign. Asked if ’15 would be a “win or else” season for Coughlin and others, Mara said he didn’t consider that an unfair stance.
- Mara admitted that after the team’s loss to the Jaguars earlier in the season, he wanted to “fire everybody.”
- Mara would be “very surprised” if Jason Pierre-Paul isn’t a Giant next season. While he cautioned that the price would have to be right, the Giants co-owner acknowledged that the franchise tag will be an option for retaining JPP.
Tom Coughlin:
- Asked about the job security of defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, Coughlin said he’s “evaluating everything,” but also strongly defended the embattled DC. Asked if he felt like players responded to Fewell, Coughlin replied, “Yes, I do.”
- Vacchiano notes that it doesn’t sound as if Coughlin wants to fire either Fewell or special teams coordinator Tom Quinn — the head coach was “very defensive” of both.
- Coughlin was noncommittal about how long he intends to continue coaching, joking that he thinks he has at least another decade left in him.
Jerry Reese:
- The GM suggested that he thinks the Giants are heading in the right direction and “could have a really good football team going into next year.”
- After spending aggressively in free agency in 2014, Reese said the team doesn’t plan to take the same approach in 2015.
- Discussing Coughlin, Reese said, “You can tell quickly if a team’s not going to play for a coach. That never happened.”
Here are a few more Giants-related links from the last 24 hours:
- Eli Manning is ready to discuss a contract extension, but isn’t necessarily making it a priority, and will defer to the team, as he tells Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
- Giants quarterback coach Danny Langsdorf will leave after one season in New York to accept a job as the offensive coordinator for Nebraska, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.
- Declining to talk about his contract status, Pierre-Paul indicated that he wasn’t going to make any promises about returning to the Giants as he nears free agency, per George Willis of the New York Post.
- Asked about the possibility of the Giants replacing Fewell or other members of the defensive staff, cornerback Prince Amukamara said, “From what I am hearing I could see that happening” (link via Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News).