Giants co-owner John Mara spoke with the media on Wednesday to discuss the team’s attempt to change course in the wake of firing head coach Joe Judge and announcing the retirement of General Manager Dave Gettleman in the last two days.
Judge was the third straight head coach the team has fired in or after their second season on the job and the Giants have now gone 61-100 since winning Super Bowl XLVI after the 2011 season. The end of this season saw the team get blown out on a weekly basis while Judge alternated between ranting about how the team quit under his predecessor and running consecutive quarterback sneaks near his own end zone in the season finale.
Mara, whose family has owned the Giants since long before he was born, was asked if this was the lowest moment he’s felt in association with the team.
“Honestly, I would have to say yes. Yes it is. I kept thinking during the season we had hit rock bottom, then each week it got a little worse,” Mara said, via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.
The role of Mara and other members in his family has been seen as part of the problem with the Giants, but Mara said personnel decisions will be made by the team’s incoming hires. He also said he understands that the organization needs to win back trust by making the right decisions about the future of the franchise.
“I want to go through a complete process and interview as many people as possible,” Mara said. “I don’t want to rush into anything. We’ve made that mistake in the past.”
The Giants have said they will select a G.M. first and the early list of candidates is made up of people outside the organization and without a history with the team. That’s a marked change from the past and likely a necessary step for the Giants to start winning back that trust.
