The New York Giants have done a lot of losing in recent years, but this season apparently felt even worse to longtime owner John Mara.
Mara spoke with the media on Tuesday about the departure of head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman. He was asked at one point if this is the most embarrassed he has ever been about the state of the Giants, and he did not mince words.
That’s significant, as Mara’s family has owned the Giants since they were founded in 1925. He has had an active role with the team since 1991. Mara has seen plenty of great seasons and awful seasons from the team. The Giants have posted a losing record in all but one of their last nine seasons. It says a lot if Mara feels 2021 was the most embarrassing.
This offseason, the Giants will hire their fourth different head coach since Tom Coughlin stepped down after 2015. That is remarkable for that short of a time frame. Mara was asked if he thinks that instability will make head coach and GM candidates hesitant. He admitted it could be a factor.
Even if you believe Joe Judge deserved to be fired, it is fair to question how the Giants have not been able to keep a head coach for more than two seasons since Coughlin left. Judge and his predecessor Pat Shurmur were each given two full years on the job. Ben McAdoo was fired midway through his second season in 2017.
The Giants job will always have appeal, as the team plays in one of the biggest markets in sports and has a rich franchise history. However, potential coaches have no reason to think they’ll be given a lengthy time frame to turn things around. They know they can help themselves by not making abysmal decisions like some of the recent ones we saw from Judge, but the instability will likely be a huge topic of conversation in New York this offseason.
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