Jerry Reese - Pro Football Rumors

Front Office Notes: Jets, Giants, Titans, Lions

January 16th, 2016 at 12:29pm CST by Ben Levine

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan filled his season-ending press conference with “generalities and overall nothingness,” writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Still, the executive did elaborate on several topics, including free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

“We’d like very much to get him back… We’ll see how this thing works out.”

“Bryce [Petty] has made a lot of progress. We’re kind of excited to have another offseason with him… With Geno [Smith], he’s under contract. We like the progress he’s made.”

Maccagnan also noted that “it’s not impossible” to keep all of their top defensive linemen, including Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Damon Harrison and Leonard Williams.

Let’s check out some more notes from the league’s front offices…

Giants general manager Jerry Reese understands that it’s his job to improve the roster, and he said he puts it on himself if the team doesn’t perform well. “At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility,” he said (via Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News). “If somebody doesn’t get it right, if somebody doesn’t pan out, it’s the GM’s responsibility.”
While candidates have been interviewing for the Titans head coach vacancy, ownership has made it clear that they have no desire to sell the team, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Lions have fired senior personnel executive Scott McEwen, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). The former Director of College Scouting was the longest tenured scout in the organization.
According to Schefter (on Twitter), the Lions have hired Kyle O’Brien as their Director of Player Personnel.

East Notes: Gase, Giants, Eagles

January 9th, 2016 at 9:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before the Dolphins reached out to Adam Gase about their head coaching vacancy, owner Stephen Ross sought advice from around the NFL on possible solutions for the position. Gase’s name kept coming up during the process, which helped lead the Dolphins to pursue him. After spending time with Gase this week, Ross became sold on the 37-year-old, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.

The Dolphins hired Gase on Saturday, but the job was his to lose two days earlier, according to Beasley. Gase “wowed” Ross and his advisers during an informal interview Wednesday on Ross’ private jet, per Beasley. The Dolphins then had Gase participate in a marathon interview Thursday as a way to assess his leadership skills. They came away impressed enough to make Gase an integral member of their franchise going forward.

Now for the latest from the NFC East:

If Doug Marrone gets the Giants’ head coaching job, don’t expect him to retain offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, reports Tom Rock of Newsday. That would seem to be a less-than-ideal scenario for 35-year-old quarterback Eli Manning, who combined for 65 touchdown passes and nearly 9,000 yards under McAdoo the last two seasons.
Speaking of the Giants, they erred in keeping general manager Jerry Reese, opines the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, who expects Reese to lose his job if the team misses the playoffs again next season. That means the next GM would have a second-year coach forced on him. Myers believes the Giants would’ve been better off letting Reese go and hiring a new GM to select Tom Coughlin‘s replacement.
At the outset of their coaching search, the Eagles pursued Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sumlin is staying put, however, Rapoport adds.

Giants Notes: Gase, Reese, Coughlin, McAdoo

January 5th, 2016 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

After confirming today that they’ll interview their coordinators, Ben McAdoo and Steve Spagnuolo, for their head coaching opening, the Giants have requested permission to speak to their first outside candidate, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Rapoport reports that New York has asked to interview Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, one of the week’s most popular targets. Before he meets with the Giants, Gase has a few other interviews lined up. He’ll reportedly meet with the Eagles today, the Browns on Wednesday, and the Dolphins on Thursday.

As the Giants eye candidates to become their new head coach, the team said goodbye to its old head coach during a press conference earlier today. Here are a few highlights from that session, which included co-owner John Mara and former head coach Tom Coughlin:

General manager Jerry Reese kept his job this week, and Mara expressed some confidence in his GM today, but he also made it clear he expects improvement from Reese. As Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets, Mara said there are many holes to fill on the roster, particularly on defense. The Giants co-owner also acknowledged that poor draft classes have had a role in the team’s slump, and suggested changes could be made on the personnel side (Twitter link via Albert Breer of the NFL Network).
Asked if he has coached his last NFL game, Coughlin confirmed what has been reported since his ouster: “I’m not necessarily done with coaching,” he told the media, including Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
Mara said today that he asked Coughlin to consider staying with the organization in some non-coaching capacity, and the 69-year-old said he’d consider it (Twitter link via La Canfora). I imagine that might become a more realistic possibility if Coughlin doesn’t find a head coaching job he likes.
Mara and Reese will conduct the initial interviews for the Giants’ head coaching search, and will the recommend finalists for expanded interviews, tweets La Canfora. Mara also admitted that he can’t completely rule out the idea of trading a pick for a coach, which means someone like Saints head coach Sean Payton could be in play (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of NJ.com).
The Giants would prefer not to lose McAdoo, but Mara conceded he can only make “recommendations” to a new head coach — he won’t force the new coach to keep the current offensive coordinator on board (Twitter link via Raanan). Of course, McAdoo himself is also a candidate for the head coaching position.

Tom Coughlin Unlikely To Remain With Giants

December 30th, 2015 at 8:38am CST by Luke Adams

While one NFC East team parted ways with its head coach on Tuesday, it doesn’t appear the Giants will emulate the head Eagles and announce a decision on their own coach until next week. However, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, the odds of Tom Coughlin remaining with New York for the 2016 season are “slim, at best.”

The thinking within the Giants’ organization, per Raanan, is that the club could have won a few more games this year if Coughlin had been at the top of his game. In laying out the potential scenarios for coaching and/or front office changes, Raanan suggests that replacing Coughlin and keeping GM Jerry Reese is the most likely outcome in New York, since the team simply doesn’t fire general managers.

If Coughlin departs, whether that means the Giants firing him or the veteran head coach announcing his retirement, the team will have to address what to do with offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. When McAdoo assumed his current role two years ago, he was viewed as a possible long-term replacement for Coughlin, and he has done some good work with Eli Manning. However, the club may not think he’s ready for a head coaching job quite yet, and a new head coach may want to bring in his own offensive coordinator.

Whatever the Giants decide, it seems inevitable that change will be coming to the team within the next week or so. Raanan writes that standing pat is the least likely scenario for the Giants, adding that it’s “close to incomprehensible at this point.”

NFC Notes: Giants, Peppers, Munnerlyn

December 26th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFC…

Paul Schwartz of the New York Post estimates that the Giants will have around $48MM in cap room this offseason. The team can clear up additional room by parting ways with several players, including Will Beatty, Jon Beason and Geoff Schwartz. Still, former sports agent Joel Corry told Schwartz that it will be tough for the organization to completely revamp their roster in a single offseason. “It’s hard to remake a team that way,’’ Corry said. “Usually it doesn’t work out for you. You’re better off building through the draft if you can, but the Giants have so many deficiencies they’re gonna have to dip their toe into free agency, I would think.’’
Meanwhile, Schwartz reiterates that the Giants aren’t expect to part ways with general manager Jerry Reese.
At 36-year-old, Packers linebacker Julius Peppers still feels great, and the veteran told ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky that he plans on playing next season. “I feel great now,” Peppers said Thursday. “If I was making the decision today, yeah, of course I can play another year. But we’ll see. We’ll see when the time comes.”
Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn isn’t a big fan of cold weather, and he admitted that he didn’t know his team would be moving to the open TCF Bank Stadium for 2014 and 2015. “I didn’t know that we were playing outside until after I signed,” he told Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com. “Seriously, I didn’t know. … It was known then, but I didn’t know. I hate cold weather.”

East Notes: Giants, Tannehill, Jets

December 12th, 2015 at 7:23pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While Giants brass was fed up enough with pass rusher Damontre Moore to cut him Friday after he got in a fight over headphones with then-teammate Cullen Jenkins, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes that most of the club’s players aren’t happy the 23-year-old is gone. One Giant told Graziano that Moore’s gameday encouragement of both offensive and defensive players will be missed, and another said the third-year man could always be counted on to attend teammates’ charity events without asking for anything in return.

The atmosphere in the locker room was quiet after Moore’s release, per Graziano, who believes his ex-Giants teammates want things to go better for him in his next stop. There’s a chance the Giants and Moore could meet as foes this year, Graziano notes, as one of their remaining opponents – the Dolphins, Panthers, Vikings or Eagles – might land him.

More on Big Blue and a couple of AFC East teams:

While the Giants’ Tom Coughlin may be past his prime, the recent work of general manager Jerry Reese hasn’t helped the head coach’s cause, submits Newsday’s Bob Glauder. The release of Moore, a third-round pick in 2013, is the latest check mark against Reese – whom Glauber believes has too often underwhelmed in the early and middle rounds of drafts over the last few years. Reese’s failure to hit on those picks has caught up to the Giants, which is a big reason why they’re 5-7.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has gotten plenty of blame for the team’s disappointing season, but offensive coordinator Zac Taylor says the fourth-year man hasn’t “regressed in any way, shape, or form,” per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
The Jets have two key defensive linemen scheduled to become free agents at year’s end. One is Muhammad Wilkerson, who’s among the best, most well-known defenders in the league. The other, Damon Harrison, doesn’t have Wilkerson’s name recognition, but he has performed brilliantly. That will make it difficult for the Jets to let Harrison go, opines Brian Costello of the New York Post. The 27-year-old currently grades out as the fifth-best run-stuffing interior D-lineman in the league this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Backup Dolphins tight end Brandon Williams broke a bone in his left foot and is likely to miss the rest of the season, head coach Dan Campbell said (Twitter link via ESPN’s James Walker).

Tom Coughlin, Jerry Reese On Hot Seat?

December 4th, 2015 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 8:06am: A source familiar with the Giants’ thinking tells Steve Serby of the New York Post that Coughlin’s seat is hotter than Reese’s. The GM is expected to be safe even if New York misses the playoffs this season, according to Selby’s source.

THURSDAY, 2:51pm: Although the Giants head into Week 13 tied for first place in the NFC East, they have lost back-to-back games and has a sub-.500 record, having failed to pull away with the division when they had the chance. The season has been a frustrating one for co-owner Steve Tisch, who “made it clear” that ownership considers the home stretch of the season “win-or-else time” for the franchise, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

“Under Coach [Tom] Coughlin, we’re fighters,” Tisch said. “[But] sometimes we fight harder than the previous week. We’ve got to stay focused and go out there as a team.”

When asked if the final five games of the season were particularly important for Coughlin and Jerry Reese, Tisch didn’t exactly offer a ringing vote of confidence for either the head coach or the general manager, according to Hubbuch. Although Tisch said the discussion on Coughlin and Reese wasn’t one to have today, he noted, “I certainly don’t want to disappoint our fans as we get into the last month of Giants football,” adding that he “would not be happy” if the team’s season ended on January 3.

Coughlin has been the Giants’ head coach since the 2004 season, and Reese has handled GM duties since 2007, so the club won’t make any hasty decisions on their respective futures. Still, New York has missed the playoffs for the last three seasons, finishing below .500 in each of the last two, and ownership didn’t deny last winter that 2015 would be a make-or-break year for the franchise’s brain trust.

Another losing season without a postseason berth would be particularly difficult to swallow, given how bad the Giants’ NFC East rivals have been. With five weeks left in the regular season, New York still has plenty of time to make a late-season run and win the East, and should even have a little margin for error. But if the Giants lose three or four more games and finish outside the playoff picture, the team could be in the market for a new coach or GM, or both.

Coughlin is currently under contract through the 2016 season.

NFC Notes: Ryan, Lynch, Giants, Quarless

November 29th, 2015 at 8:17pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Falcons started the season 5-0 and looked like a surefire playoff team, but they’ve lost five of their last six games to drop to 6-5. Their postseason hopes are now in serious jeopardy, and one reason for their skid is the lackluster play of quarterback Matt Ryan. During their four-game losing streak, the Falcons have averaged fewer than 17 points per game and Ryan has thrown just seven touchdowns against six interceptions. Two of those picks came in a crucial 20-10 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. Afterward, owner Arthur Blank and head coach Dan Quinn expressed confidence in Ryan, a three-time Pro Bowler who has been the Falcons’ QB since they drafted him third overall in 2008.

“He’s demonstrated his abilities over eight years. He’ll be fine. He’ll be good,” Blank said, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Added Quinn, who said he isn’t thinking about benching Ryan or anyone else, “He’s absolutely the competitor that I want. He’s what we look for and our team looks for the whole way.”

Here’s more from the NFC:

Whether he retires or the Seahawks simply decide to move on from him, there’s a good chance Marshawn Lynch is in his final year in Seattle, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Lynch underwent groin surgery earlier this week and it’s possible he’ll end up on season-ending IR in a month if the team decides he’s not ready to return. Regardless, from an on-field standpoint, the five-time Pro Bowler has become less essential to the Seahawks’ offense with the emergence of rookie Thomas Rawls. From a business standpoint, cutting Lynch would save Seattle $6.5MM on its cap in 2016 and $10.5MM in ’17.
Don’t expect Giants general manager Jerry Reese to be a fall guy if they miss the playoffs, tweets ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
The Packers – who are in desperate need of weapons in their passing game – are close to getting injured tight end Andrew Quarless back, per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press-Gazette. Quarless has been on the shelf since tearing his ACL in Week 3, and head coach Mike McCarthy said he could practice in the coming week. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be active for Green Bay’s game against Detroit on Thursday, however.

NFC Mailbags: Giants, Panthers, Cowboys

July 18th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Ben Levine

We took a look at ESPN.com’s AFC mailbags earlier this morning. Let’s now shift our focus to the NFC…

General manager Jerry Reese deserves more criticism for the current state of the Giants roster than head coach Tom Coughlin, says Dan Graziano. Regardless, the writer points to the organizations lack of turnover at the position (three different GMs in 37 years), which leads him to believe that Reese will be sticking around.
The Panthers have some room to work with under the cap, but David Newton writes that there’s no need to rush negotiations with their extension candidates. The team has Luke Kuechly wrapped up through the 2016 season, and the same goes for Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short. Cornerback Josh Norman is set to become a free agent following the season, but Newton isn’t convinced that the team will pay him what he may be seeking.
Todd Archer believes fans shouldn’t be counting on the Cowboys to sign another running back. As the writer describes, the coaching staff seems set on their current grouping of Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar.
Archer is also a fan of the Dez Bryant contract, and he believes the wideout received a fair amount of money. Meanwhile, Archer disagrees with the theory that the Cowboys haven’t invested in their defense. He points to the contracts handed out to Brandon Carr, Sean Lee and Orlando Scandrick, as well as the drafting of Morris Claiborne, Byron Jones and Randy Gregory.

Breer’s Latest: Titans, Gurley, Rams, Bears

April 30th, 2015 at 6:13pm CST by Luke Adams

With the draft less than an hour from getting underway, Albert Breer of the NFL Network took to Twitter to pass along a number of draft-related nuggets. Here are the highights from Breer (all Twitter links):

The Titans have fielded offers for the No. 2 pick, but haven’t gotten any to their liking yet and are ready to draft Marcus Mariota. The club isn’t very interested in picks below 15th overall as a central part of any trade package.
Teams like the Browns, Dolphins, and Chargers are eyeing Todd Gurley, and it’s possible one of those clubs – or another suitor – will get anxious and trade up for the Georgia running back, given the interest he’s generating.
Although Washington, the Jets, and the Rams are all viewed as trade-down candidates in the top 10, St. Louis is a little more flexible than the other two teams, who may not want to drop too far. Washington may target an offensive lineman like Brandon Scherff or Ereck Flowers if Scot McCloughan decides to move down, and those players – or Andrus Peat – could be targets for the Giants and Rams as well.
There’s a belief that Giants GM Jerry Reese would prefer a pass rusher to an offensive lineman at No. 9, but depending on how the first few picks play out, the value might not match up.
According to Breer, the run on offensive lineman may happen earlier in the first round than people think, which may motivate one or two teams to trade up. Cameron Erving has a chance to go in the teens. The Panthers and Broncos are among the teams picking late in the first who are seeking offensive linemen.
Cornerback Trae Waynes is generating buzz and could go as high as seventh overall to the Bears. Dupree and Kevin White are also in the mix at No. 7. The draft range for Amari Cooper appears to be between the third and sixth overall pick, so he likely won’t be available for Chicago at No. 7.
The Falcons may decide to move up from No. 8 for an impact defender like Leonard Williams, but if they stay where they are, Bud Dupree could be their man.
Either Sean Mannion or Bryce Petty figures to be the third quarterback off the board, and it’s not likely to happen in the first round.
According to Breer, teams believe Shane Ray will slip but will be picked in the first round, whereas Randy Gregory isn’t viewed as a first-round pick.