HEADLINES

Kevin Abrams

2022 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

May 18th, 2022 at 5:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Along with the head coaches being fired, a few NFL teams are looking for new general managers. Listed below are the GM candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status.

If and when other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 5-24-22 (9:03pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Giants To Hire Eagles’ Brandon Brown As Assistant GM

February 5th, 2022 at 2:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Howie Roseman will lose another lieutenant from his front office. The Giants are hiring Eagles director of player personnel Brandon Brown to be their assistant general manager, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This move comes barely a week after the Bears hired the Eagles’ other co-player personnel director — Ian Cunningham — to be their assistant GM. Brown will join Joe Schoen‘s front office in New York. Previous Giants assistant GM Kevin Abrams is moving to a different role. He will become the team’s senior vice president of football operations and strategy.

A Giants organization that had either promoted GMs from within or hired familiar faces (in the case of Dave Gettleman) for the previous three decades now has two outsiders atop its front office. In Brown, the Giants are bringing in a young executive and one that has gone through multiple GM interviews. The Vikings interviewed Brown for their GM job last month.

Brown had been with the Eagles since 2017, joining the team ahead of its Super Bowl-winning season after spending two years as a Colts scout. The Eagles bumped Brown up to their pro scouting director post in 2019 and elevated him to VP of player personnel last year. Brown finished his Eagles run by overseeing their scouting department. Brown and Cunningham’s Philadelphia exits come not too long after the Jets and Browns, respectively, hired their GMs — Joe Douglas and Andrew Berry — from Roseman’s front office.

Abrams has since been the team’s assistant GM for the past 20 years, working under GMs Ernie Accorsi, Jerry Reese and Gettleman. The Giants interviewed Abrams for the GM job in 2017.

“Kevin has been and will continue to be an invaluable resource for me and our staff,” Schoen said. “In his new role, Kevin will be assisting with the day-to-day football operation, administration and strategy of the organization moving forward.”

Giants Intend To Keep Patrick Graham; Will Retain Two Key Execs

January 31st, 2022 at 11:52am CST by Adam La Rose

As Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll begin their respective tenures as the general manager and head coach of the Giants, they have made clear a desire for stability at a number of positions in the organization. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports (via Twitter), the team plans on retaining defensive coordinator Patrick Graham if he doesn’t get a HC gig elsewhere. As well, his colleague Mike Garafolo tweets that assistant GM Kevin Abrams and director of football operations Ed Triggs will be staying with the team. 

Graham, as Rapoport notes, recently interviewed with the Vikings for their HC vacancy. That came after he met with the Giants for the same position; while he obviously didn’t get the top job in New York, the team has let it be known they respect his work as DC.

In his inaugural press conference on Monday, Daboll – who worked alongside Graham for three seasons in New England – said, “I have had a good relationship with Pat for some time in this league. He’s very diligent. He’s smart. I think the players respect him. I have a good working relationship with him. Selfishly, I would love him to be here“. As the Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets, defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson is expected to be retained as well.

As for Abrams, it appears he will be staying in New York, but quite possibly with a new title. As Duggan tweets, he has “offered to give up” the assistant GM label if it helps Shoen bring in a more familiar right-hand-man. Having been with the Giants since 1999, Abrams was a candidate for the GM opening, but the team stuck to its stated intention of hiring externally.

Triggs, meanwhile, has held his current role since June 2020 and like Abrams, has a plethora of front office experience with the Giants. Clearly, Shoen and ownership want to keep key elements of the existing executive structure in place, as opposed to clearing house as other teams have done in the past.

 

Giants Request Interviews With Seven Execs For GM Opening

January 10th, 2022 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

9:07pm: We can add three more names to the list of Giants GM candidates, all via Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Cardinals have requested permission to speak with Cardinals Vice President of Pro Personnel (and former safety) Adrian Wilson, 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, and 49ers Director of Player Personnel Ran Carthon.

6:38pm: We learned earlier today that Giants GM Dave Gettleman was calling it a career, opening a vacancy atop the organization’s front office. Well, the organization has already started requesting interviews with potential replacements. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Giants requested an interview with Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen.

ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the organization also requested an interview with Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles, while Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets that New York requested interviews with Titans VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden and Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort. Poles will interview Thursday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.

[RELATED: Dave Gettleman Officially Announces Retirement]

Schoen is set to interview Wednesday, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano (on Twitter). Schoen has been with the Bills organization since 2017, and he’s played a major role in the organization’s recent rise in the AFC. Prior to his stint in Buffalo, Schoen spent almost a decade in Miami (when he was endorsed by Bill Parcells), evolving from a national scout into director of player personnel. The executive also had a stint with the Panthers, working his way up from an intern in the ticket office.

Poles was mentioned as a candidate for the Panthers GM job last offseason. The executive has spent much of his career with the Chiefs, working his way up from director of college scouting to executive director of player personnel, where he works alongside GM Brett Veach and assistant GM Mike Borgonzi.

Ossenfort was also a candidate for the Panthers GM gig. The executive previously worked in the Patriots front office before moving on to Tennessee. Cowden has been with the Titans for six years, and that followed an almost two-decade stint with the Panthers organization.

Meanwhile, while many assumed that Giants assistant GM Kevin Abrams would be an option for the top gig, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets that the executive “is not considered to be a candidate.” However, Abrams is respected within the organization and could stick around under a new GM.

Dave Gettleman Officially Announces Retirement

January 10th, 2022 at 11:51am CST by Adam La Rose

It’s official: the Giants are in need of a new General Manager. The club released an announcement that Dave Gettleman has retired from his position as Senior Vice President and General Manager. 

After informing owners John Mara and Steve Tisch of his decision, Gettleman said, ““It was a privilege to serve as the general manager of the New York Giants the last four years and to have spent so many years of my career with this franchise. We obviously have not had the on-the-field success I expected, and that is disappointing. However, I have many fond memories here, including two Super Bowl victories, and I wish the team and organization only the best moving forward. There are many good people here who pour their souls into this organization. I am proud to have worked alongside them.”

In a joint statement, Mara and Tisch said, “We would like to thank Dave for his commitment to this franchise. Dave was integral in building three of our Super Bowl teams, including two championship teams, and we wish Dave, his wife Joanne and their entire family all the best in his retirement.”

It has been widely expected for quite some time that Gettleman was going to step down from his position. As a result, many names have been floated as potential replacements. Perhaps the name at the top of that list is current Assistant GM Kevin Abrams – someone who has been labelled a “strong contender” for the job. On the other hand, many believe that the club will stray from its tendency to promote from within, and that the successful candidate may not have ties with Head Coach Joe Judge.

Regarding the search for a new GM, Mara went on to say that, “We are looking for a person who demonstrates exceptional leadership and communication abilities, somebody who will oversee all aspects of our football operations, including player personnel, college scouting and coaching”. 

The Giants have become the third team with a GM vacancy, joining the Vikings and Bears after they fired Rick Spielman and Ryan Pace, respectively, on Monday. News from the morning, however, suggests that Judge will be staying on – something that had been expected throughout the Giants’ 4-13 season.

Latest On Joe Judge, Giants’ GM Position

January 9th, 2022 at 12:56pm CST by Rory Parks

The latest reporting on the matter suggests that Joe Judge will be back as the Giants’ head coach in 2022, though Judge will be required to make some changes to his offensive staff, including offensive coordinator. However, Judge may not be out of the woods just yet.

Last month, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post wrote that Judge would be back unless someone the team interviews for the soon-to-be-vacant GM post offers both a compelling reason to let Judge go and a compelling replacement for him. Even SNY.tv’s Ralph Vacchiano’s more recent report (cited in our piece linked above) mentioned that the new GM may be given the chance to “weigh in” on Judge’s status.

In that same vein, sources from other ownership groups tell Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that they would not be surprised if Giants co-owner John Mara decides to move on from Judge, and minority owner Steve Tisch is said to be willing to consider an organizational overhaul that includes the head coaching position. However, Mara himself has thus far remained resolute in his desire to keep Judge aboard.

When GM Dave Gettleman‘s imminent ouster was first reported back in November, it was said that his replacement would ideally have a background in the Patriots’ scouting system and would have philosophies more in line with those of Judge, an ex-New England staffer. Just a month later, though, ownership’s thinking apparently changed a bit, as Schwartz wrote that a prospective GM’s preexisting ties to Judge could actually be a detriment to that person’s candidacy. Indeed, Mara reportedly wants to know what the new GM truly thinks of Judge and does not want that opinion to be influenced by prior relationships.

As for who the new GM will be, we have heard that assistant GM Kevin Abrams is a “strong contender.” That does not come as a surprise given the Giants’ penchant to hire those with connections to the franchise, though sticking with the status quo in this instance would likely incense the Big Blue fanbase. However, Vacchiano does not see Abrams as a mere extension of Gettleman despite the many years the two execs have spent together in the New York front office, and he believes Abrams would be a worthy hire despite what fans might think.

Other candidates include Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort and Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler, both of whom were with New England when Judge was there. Again, those Foxborough ties may or may not hurt Ossenfort’s and Ziegler’s case to become Giants GM, but there will be no shortage of other potential targets.

Vacchiano names former Chiefs and Browns GM John Dorsey as another candidate, and if the Giants want to go with a more experienced hand, they would be hard-pressed to do better. Fans who pay attention to front office maneuvers and the annual GM cycle will also recognize Eliot Wolf, Louis Riddick, Dave Caldwell, and Scott Pioli, who all appear on Vacchiano’s list.

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post on Twitter) says Judge himself is pushing for Abrams to be promoted. As Schwartz pointed out, though, Judge might not have much say in the decision, and Dunleavy posits that Judge’s advocacy for Abrams means that old friends Ossenfort and Ziegler are not interested in the post.

Dunleavy also mentions Dawn Aponte as someone who might get an interview (Twitter link). Aponte’s name has not appeared on PFR pages since 2018, but she has served in high-ranking executive positions for the Jets, Browns, and Dolphins, and she currently works in the league office as the NFL’s chief administrator of football operations.

Giants To Consider Kevin Abrams As Next GM

December 23rd, 2021 at 12:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dave Gettleman is expected to step down as Giants GM after this season, his fourth in the role, and the organization may again be looking inward to fill its top front office post.

Kevin Abrams, the team’s assistant GM, will be a strong contender to succeed Gettleman, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes. While the Giants’ past hires would not paint an Abrams rise as a big surprise, the team continuing business as usual after the past five seasons would be a controversial strategy.

A Giants staffer since 1999, Abrams has established a versatile skillset. The Giants hired him as a cap analyst early during Ernie Accorsi‘s GM stay. Abrams has since been the team’s assistant GM for the past 20 years, working under Accorsi, Jerry Reese and Gettleman. The Giants interviewed Abrams for the job in 2017 but opted to go with Gettleman, who was a longtime Giants staffer before taking over as the Panthers’ GM in 2013.

Ownership views Abrams as a “very worthy” in-house option, per La Canfora. The Giants’ three previous GMs have worked with the team before being tabbed to lead the front office.

Reese was with the Giants for 13 seasons before being promoted to GM. Gettleman was on staff for 15 years, from 1998-2012, before heading to Carolina. Even Accorsi, who had GM experience prior to coming to New York, was the team’s assistant GM for four years before taking over. Abrams worked extensively with all three. He interviewed for the Lions job that went to Bob Quinn in 2016 but has not been connected to any other outside positions since.

Giants GM Dave Gettleman Unlikely To Return In 2022

November 28th, 2021 at 8:15am CST by Rory Parks

The Giants are sitting at 3-7 and are at the bottom of the NFC East. They are on pace for their fifth consecutive season of 10 or more losses, and if they pull off that dubious feat, GM Dave Gettleman — who was hired at the end of 2017 — will have presided over four double-digit loss campaigns. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes, Gettleman is not expected to return to the club in 2022.

It seems as though Gettleman has been under fire ever since he first took the job. Even late last December, the Giants were reportedly prepared to part ways with him and bring in a new top exec to head up the personnel department. However, Big Blue has traditionally given its GMs a long leash, and co-owner John Mara knew when he hired Gettleman that his team was embarking on a multi-year rebuild. He also knew that hiring a a new head coach (Joe Judge) last season could delay that rebuild a bit, as Judge would be implementing new systems and a new culture.

Gettleman, 70, managed to hit on a few of his free agent pickups in 2020 — cornerback James Bradberry, linebacker Blake Martinez, and defensive back Logan Ryan — which may have helped him retain his position for 2021. But Mara made it clear this summer that while he was not issuing a playoff mandate, any stagnation or regression could prompt an organizational shakeup.

And not only might the Giants fail to match last year’s six wins, but they also have not seen any progress from two of Gettleman’s defining draft choices, QB Daniel Jones and RB Saquon Barkley. Both selections garnered a fair amount of criticism when they were made — Gettleman’s use of the No. 6 overall pick on Jones in 2019 was widely regarded as a reach, and his use of the No. 2 overall pick on Barkley in 2018 was deemed too high for a running back for a rebuilding outfit — and between Jones’ struggles and Barkley’s injury problems, the G-Men are getting very little production from two picks that they needed to get right.

Of course, the team recently fired OC Jason Garrett, and it sounds as though Gettleman will be following him out the door. If Mara opts for an internal replacement, Rapoport names VP of football operations and assistant GM Kevin Abrams as one possibility. Any candidate from outside the organization would ideally have a background in the Patriots’ scouting system and would have philosophies more in line with those of Judge, an ex-New England staffer.

The clear implication is that Judge’s job is safe for at least one more season.

East Notes: Patriots, Brady, Giants, Cowboys

June 20th, 2018 at 3:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Tom Brady recently told Oprah that he’ll retire sooner rather than later, but he may still be on course for his original plan. In a reply to a post on Instagram regarding Brady’s long-term plans, the Patriots quarterback replied “cuarenta y cinco” – Spanish for 45.

Brady turns 41 on Aug. 3, so he still has a ways to go before hitting that mark. Still, after another masterful season, it’s hard to doubt him.

Here’s more from the East divisions:

  • New Cowboys assistant Kris Richard is drawing rave reviews in Dallas and he could become one of the league’s hottest head coaching candidates next year. “No question,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said when asked if the 38-year-old could coach his own team in 2019 (via Charean Williams of PFT). “He’ll be like a Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith, guys I’ve been around who became head coaches. He’s got the right stuff.”
  • Giants executive Kevin Abrams, a member of the organization since 1999 and the assistant GM for the last 16 years, has been promoted to the team’s vice president of football operations. Abrams was considered as an internal candidate for GM before the hiring of Dave Gettleman.
  • Free agent wide receiver Eric Decker feels that he would be a good fit for the Patriots.

Latest On Giants’ Coaching Search

January 6th, 2018 at 4:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Once thought to be the Giants’ No. 1 candidate, Jim Schwartz looks like he will be a bit behind in Big Blue’s search.

The Eagles’ DC received an interview request, but the sides have yet to schedule said summit, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). If nothing transpires by Sunday, the Giants will have to wait until the Eagles are eliminated to meet with Schwartz. Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter) the Giants don’t have a Sunday interview scheduled; he labels Schwartz as being on the back-burner.

While waiting hasn’t been a deal-breaker for some teams in the past, the Giants and Schwartz — attached in rumors for weeks — not conducting an interview before he prepares for Philadelphia’s divisional-round game could cause the team to pivot away from the former Lions boss. The Eagles are not a highly regarded No. 1 seed presently, but in a hotly contested coaching market that’s seen three Giants interviewees also take meetings elsewhere, the team could opt to move forward with other candidates to stave off competitors. Schwartz has met with the Cardinals about their HC vacancy.

Big Blue has already met with Steve Spagnuolo, Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and Pat Shurmur, whom Raanan notes (on Twitter) interviewed Saturday. The Giants still plan to meet with both Eric Studesville and Steve Wilks early next week, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv tweets. The Carolina DC would be eligible to meet with New York’s representatives after the Panthers-Saints game, whether his team wins or loses.

Dave Gettleman, John Mara and assistant GM Kevin Abrams are meeting with the HC candidates, per Vacchiano (on Twitter), who adds co-owner Steve Tisch will meet with candidates as the team moves closer to a final decision.

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