TotalProSports pointed us to this petition urging Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch to fire General Manager Jerry Reese.
The petition reads:
"“Giants fans unite. Season after season GM Jerry Reese has drafted poorly and failed in free agent signings. Injuries have plagued this team for years and the depth in the roster always fails. Yesterday, head coach Tom Coughlin resigned. This man is a class act, and personally took the blame for the Giants lackluster performances this season. I believe that the coaching, while at fault for some losses, is not as much to blame as Jerry Reese. If Tom Coughlin is out, we may as well get rid of Reese too.”"
The call-to-action was created by Mike Saliani on the morning of January 5th. Saliani appears to be a senior at the University of Albany, according to his Twitter profile. As of publish, the petition has 833 signatures and needs 1,000 before it’s sent to the “Decision Maker”, who I’d guess would be John Mara and/or Steve Tisch.
With the First Pick
When Tom Coughlin “resigned” as head coach, many wondered why Reese got to keep his job. John Mara tried to dance around the issue, but his reasoning for Tom’s departure could just as easily been applied to Jerry. When Reese took the podium to answer questions, he seemed agitated. He fired back at a reporter who claimed his mid to late round draft picks have been worse than average and demanded proof. And Big Blue View did just that, comparing the approximate value of those draft picks against the average across the league. The result? They’re among the worst.
Just this season alone Reese made 7 huge mistakes: not planning for Jon Beason’s injury, cutting James Jones, signing Kenrick Ellis to guaranteed money, not planning for Victor Cruz’s injury, not signing a proven veteran safety, and counting on the Human Personal Foul, Damontre Moore.
With all that in mind, Reese is responsible for potentially perennial Pro Bowlers Odell Beckham, Jr, Devon Kennard, Landon Collins, Ereck Flowers, Weston Richburg, Justin Pugh, and Johnathan Hankins in the past three years. He also selected Jason Pierre-Paul, Linval Joseph, Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Phillips, Mario Manningham, Terrell Thomas, and that dynamic 2007 draft class of Steve Smith, Ahmad Bradshaw, Kevin Boss, Aaron Ross, and Zak DeOssie, all of whom have contributed to at least 1 Super Bowl.
It seems to me the Giants owners are giving Reese a one-year leash. Make the playoffs in 2016 or find new work. This petition might just push things along a little quicker. The 2016 NFL Draft and free agency period will be insanely crucial for Reese’s future and the team’s.