Dave Gettleman hasn’t gotten the Giants out of their swoon since taking over as general manager just after the 2018 season.
In fact, Big Blue has only won a measly 15 games over the past four seasons as roster construction — most notably with an offensive line that has yet to get better — has gagged and sputtered with little indication that the Giants are any closer to being a playoff team.
On Monday, however, in his first in-person press conference since January of 2020, Giants owner John Mara gave Gettleman a vote of confidence shortly after admitting that “we’re all on the hot seat.”
“Let’s see what happens this season,” Mara said regarding Gettleman. “Let’s see what kind of progress we’ve made, see if we’ve won some games.”
For Gettleman’s sake, there has to be some sort of uptick in the organization’s forecast this season. He remained bullish that selecting Daniel Jones as the franchise quarterback was still the correct move while adding he had no regrets about taking running back Saquon Barkley second overall in 2018.
The protection in front of them on the offensive line, however, is still a major question mark — one that got off to a miserable start in Week 1 of the preseason by allowing five sacks and 10 quarterback hits against the Jets in a 12-7 loss.
Gettleman was adamant upon his introduction as Giants general manager nearly four years ago that the offensive line would be a top priority in building a contender. While he’s expended first-round picks and sizable money in free agency, that hasn’t been the case.
Now, it seems as though they’ll be the key to keeping the Giants — and potentially Gettleman — afloat this season after adding Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney to the team’s arsenal of weapons while the defense is expected to take another step forward under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
“I don’t think I need to say or do anything to motivate the people in this building,” Mara said. “They’re already motivated. I want to be able to walk off the field after the last game, whenever that is, I want to feel like ‘do we have a chance to win a Super Bowl with this group?’ ‘Are we moving in that direction?’
“If the answer is this, there obviously won’t be any changes. If the answer is no, that’s another discussion.”
