 2020 big the general manager of the New York Giants Dave Gettlemann joins us on the Michael K show Dave, it's Michael Don and Peter. How are you today? I'm doing fine. Happy new year guys. Happy new year to you I'm sure that the last couple of days have not been that easy for you So we'll start with the firing of the head coach Pat Schirmer Was that your call Dave or did it come from above you? That wasn't that's that was not my call So you would have kept him That what it came from above Do you think that Schirmer did a good job? I'm not going to go there. It's not it's not fair for me to to old pine on Pat's performance right now So when you say from above people think John Mara, how much does Steve Tish have a say now when you say above? Well, they they're co-owners. Mm-hmm, and then they discuss everything Now Dave the search for a new coach will it be you as the point man or is it going to be those the two owners? It'll be Steve and John and I will be involved as well as Kevin Abrams now Were you the point man for the hiring of Schirmer? We're it was the same setup same setup Do you were you surprised then Dave that you kept your job and he didn't? You know as I said in my presser on Saturday on Tuesday We had some stand I had substantive this Conversations with Steve and John over the last couple weeks of the season and You know they they made their decisions at any point did you think your job was in jeopardy Dave? Yes, of course We didn't you know he didn't win enough You know this is this is professional sports It seems though you've been in you've been in the sports business Most of your adult life it seems that the time that people are given to build or change is Much shorter than in the past. I don't know if that's social media I don't know if it's just the way the world is right now where everything has to be yesterday But two years is not a real long time to really turn something around that was in pretty bad shape I'm not gonna argue with you You know it's it's two years is a short period of time. Yes And it's really to me Dave almost one year right because when you came in I Thought the mission statement was different because the feeling was at least from outside You were going for it you drafted say Quan Barkley, which immediately was gonna help the team You had Eli Manning and the feeling was that Eli still had time left a lot of money invested on the defensive side of the ball That going into 2018 you thought you were a playoff team and then going into 2019 You were in a rebuild. So do you feel that that put you in a tough spot because the mission statement seemed to change? Midway through that 2018 season when it was clear you weren't a playoff team. Okay. Well This is where I'm culpable. Okay, I Came into it and I I thought That we could do both at the same time and I was wrong Was that because of your belief that Eli still had a lot left or was it something else that was part of it Yes, did Eli have less than you thought he had? We had to build a better team around them. Okay specifically an offensive line Now is that your full blame or did the organization the guys from above? Also feel that you could do both at once or did they feel get me another championship for Eli? it was Listen, you know, we obviously haven't done enough Okay, we obviously haven't done enough and I made a miscalculation I'm being very upfront about it and I thought that we could do both at the same time. It didn't work out that way Now I'm wondering Dave. I know you can't speak for them You're interviewing for that job. I always got the impression that they did not want a full rebuild Did you go in there knowing they didn't want to read a full rebuild and told them that I could do both and then put Maybe too much pressure on yourself to do it You know, it's it That's a tough question Ask me that question again, how's that? All right, I will ask you this way Did you fashion the way you answered their questions knowing that they didn't want a full rebuild? Did you truly believe that this this had to be rebuilt? I thought we could do it I thought we could do both at the same time You know, I said it twice. I thought we could do both at the same time and I was wrong But how many teams have done both that the only thing I could remember is maybe the Yankees and that's a different sport where they kind of They reset but they didn't break it down all the way, but how many football teams have done both at the same time It's tough to do. It's not easy Now you mentioned that Titian Mara are 50% owners But what Steve had mentioned that he wants to be more involved So did you get a sense he's more involved now than he was when you were first hired? You know, I guess I You know, I think to me it's the same You took a chance drafting Daniel Jones with the sixth pick. Do you feel good about that right now? Yes, you think he's going to be the star that you think he was going to be when you drafted him. Yes You feel stronger about that than you did the day you drafted him. Yes. What about why? well Really and truly the the family handle everything the way he did, you know, we've First in his first game. He brings us to a comfort behind when he's won a game in overtime. He's done things that no other Rookie quarterback is done Behind it an offensive line that was inconsistent and a running game that was inconsistent He is he is he is terrific for this market He is mentally and physically tough and You know, you you don't know You know You can talk to people all day long. You can watch him play football But you know until they're in your building, you don't know about the mental re mental resiliency and toughness and You know, he was he's got it And you mentioned it Dave, but he threw for five touchdowns and no picks multiple times It was incredible the one thing he clearly seemed to struggle with as the year went on was fumbling the football How much of that is a how much of that is a priority? And how big a concern is it for you guys moving forward? Well, you know, what we obviously when you turn on the ball over it's it's an issue, okay, and One of the things I think that all young quarterbacks struggle with is First their first time in the pocket under that kind of pressure with those with with people that big moving that quickly Okay, so they their ball security has to get better. There were times late in the year where Daniel was much better You know, you can feel the pressure he put to it Put two hands of the ball moved it around from it from the swiping so he got better that way the other issue is How many times have you seen the the smart veteran quarterbacks get pressured get rushed and what do they do? They throw it in the dirt at somebody's feet. Let's live to play another down You know, let's finish our series with the ball in our hands not somebody else's so he'll get there He'll get there Dave you are you guys obviously got off to a terrible start the nine losses in a row And I'm wondering as a general manager has to think about drafting and stuff like that No team wants to lose but when you guys won those two games at the end one with Eli Did you kind of cringe there were it might have cost you chase young? Did you sit there and go hmm? I like to win, but it would have been better to have a higher draft pick Absolutely, not okay. Absolutely not then what would people don't want to understand Which I shouldn't say what they don't want to what you have to understand and please I'm not being trying I'm not being condescending Everything that you know, you well, we're trying to build that culture piece downstairs Okay, and really in the building and when you when when you are a Happy about losing what message he is sending. No, we want our guys fighting hide for you know every Sunday on Monday of Thursday and You want the goal is to win so no All right, so you're looking for a new coach. How important is bringing in a coach that can mature and make your quarterback better? Well, that that's part of the that's certainly part of the equation That's certainly part of the equation. It's it's you know, we As we identify coaches and go through the process, you know, that's something we discuss in the during the interview session Dating all the way back to Bill Parcells who said, you know, if I'm gonna cook the food I want to shop for the groceries What if there's a coach out there that impresses Mara and Tish and he wants to have decision over personnel Would you give up some of your power? Listen, this is it. This is a collaboration. Okay, and it's all about Excuse me, whatever needs to be done in the best interest of the New York football Giants I will do but you're the more experienced of the people making the decision because you've been there and done that Well, again, it's a collaboration In in terms of Daniel Jones having to grow does that eliminate Dave a defensive minded coach or does that not matter? No, we need we need the best coach for the New York football Giants And that could so Daniel's maturation can also be done with the defensive minded coach They bring in the right offensive guy, sure your thoughts on the the Redskins hiring Ron Rivera You had obviously a history with him in Carolina. You guys went to a Super Bowl together your thoughts on him Runs it runs a terrific coach. He's a terrific football coach great defensive mind. He's a leader of men they will He'll you know, he's he's he's a formidable coach Did you guys ever have an opportunity to even try to talk with him or was it Washington deal too far down the line? I really don't know that I just you know know that before we could turn around the deal was done All right, let's talk about this team is presently constituted the defense obviously had its problems You had a lot of draft picks a lot of young kids on that defensive side of the ball Were you happy with their progression during the course of the season? Well, you know, it's I think that You know, they all made progress but I think that we lose sight of How young they truly are, you know when I first got in the industry We're drafting 23 24 year old men who played, you know major college football for five years now We're drafting 21 year old kids who've been in college for three years and what they don't understand is they're about to line up against 28 29 year old men who are Gonna try to rip their lungs out. It's it's it's it's become a bigger jump It's become a bigger jump and the college game is not our game. It's a different game So there's a lot. There's a lot to learn and a shot time to get there Dave you you said during your press conference You still think the game most of the game is about stopping the run and having a running game But when you look around the NFL, there's so much offense with throwing and you know You see Drew Brees and Pat Mahomes and things like that, right? Is it the same deal of the game that you grew up in you to you to you say, you know, well Obviously with throwing the ball way more. Yeah, even way more today than they were before You know, it's why people will talk about, you know, people say well your third college You know is your you know your nickel, you know at the end of the day, he's playing 65% of the snaps, you know You're a nickel 65 70% of the time, you know, you're you're you run past ratio was 65 35 You know, I should see no pass being the 65, you know It's it's it's definitely a different NFL But if you know take a look at the teams that are in the playoffs Take a look at those teams Kansas City runs the ball very well The Saints run the ball very well You know, it's it's just it's just the way it is. What happened last year in the Super Bowl and the winger moves on the six-yard line They ran the ball, you know, you can't like I said the style of play evolves It does and that's what's happened People are in 11 personnel and they're going empty, you know way more than they ever have in the past and we're drafting You know, you know six four two hundred and thirty-five pound tight ends that run for four and setting them down the field You know, so yeah, the style of play he has evolved. There's no doubt about it But I just you know, if you look if you really look at the playoff games and you look at what's going on If you don't have a running game It's very very difficult. Would you say that the running games that are successful in the league come from? The ability to block the that the system maybe produces those running backs more than the running backs talent themselves asking that again That the running the successful running backs in this league Is it really more system than it is just their Individual talents to run the football that they throw so well that they're able to you know Keep eight men out of the box on the defensive side and they're just able to open things up for the running back more than just the singular Talent running back producing those yards Yeah, you can make that argument. You can make that argument, you know, and that may be why You know, you can make that argument So let's go to the quarterback that they're running back that you drafted second over all a couple of years ago Say Quan Barkley not a great second year, but he did have the high ankle sprain How much of his lack of production at times in the second half had to do with that injury, you know It's it's I really can't speculate on that In terms of I mean, you know, you can you can make the argument, you know Listen when you've got when you've got a thoroughbred like he is sometimes You know, they got a try they got a trust that they're healthy plain and simple and you know, I just he just took him a little bit longer and he came but he finished really strong So we're excited about that Dave how important is it to get a head coach that is really prepared to handle this market media-wise? in my assessment there were moments in which Pat struggled with it sort of the tone to get and you don't prepare to be a guy who loves Talking that often and this is a fan base. That's pretty angry and frustrated at this point Is the way a coach communicates with this community important moving forward? Absolutely, and very frankly we we've discussed it internally and you know, I'm I probably I need to do more. I Need to do more. I know that You know, it was it was like it in Carolina You know, I was available, you know during the regular offseason and then once the season started I just truly felt that it's about the players and coaches and So in my time there, I think the whole time I was there I only spoke to the media once in season and that was in 15 when you know making that Super Bowl run and You know run was getting bombarded with You know the press so I I took I took a I did a presser, you know on the field, but you know, it is important You know, I'm gonna improve my messaging and you know, we're gonna maybe adjust the way we're doing it Unfortunately, we don't get a chance to talk with you that much. So I'm just gonna say this out front it seems like you you you seem like It seems very distasteful for you to have to answer these questions because you obviously know more than we do and more than the Fans and you come off that way. Do you find that problematic? Do your bosses find that problematic that the message that you're sending you do sometimes come Come off as condescending to the people ask the questions and obviously the fans and in turn Well, if I come off condescending, I apologize Well, I mean, but has that ever been brought up to you other than me just bringing it up to you Very frankly. No, really Wow I think the comment that I remember Dave was when you said trust us Well, we're not just gonna trust you on your word. We got to see it right out, right exactly. Oh, absolutely So one then also Pat made it a little bit worse, too We talked about this a lot that after the Joe after Jones played well in the preseason game It sort of seemed like Pat was kind of being like ha ha told you so and I you know, listen I know we're media. We're sensitive, etc But that is sort of the the feeling that we got from the Giants this this past season Well, it's interesting. My wife told me, you know, you can't argue with feelings and I Not being a wise guy here just making a point and And I understand I really do You can't answer all of this because you haven't been here for the entire time But but I feel like I want to be honest But I really look at the problem this organization has had over the last couple of years Dave is that they were trying to get a little bit more out of Eli before he was done That was John Marra's dad's last traffic Wellington Marra's last pick was Eli and this team won super balls at 10 and 6 and 9 and 7 So there was this feeling of just get in it and we can win another one for Eli And I really think it stunted the growth of this organization Did you get any sense when you came in here that there was some sort of mandate like win another one for Eli Let's squeeze one more out there kind of a delusion in believing that you guys were closer than you actually were because you had a former Super Bowl champion running your league and maybe not looking at the fact that he was an aging quarterback that wasn't what he once was The quick note answer is no No, there was never that pressure Did you ever think Dave that that Sherma would want to replace Eli after game two and did that give you pause when he did? It was it. No, it did not give me pause Did you what when you started the season though? Do I know that you said in your press conference that you know? Obviously Jones came along a lot quicker than you thought but did you did you ever think it was gonna be two games? No Very frankly. No, so in retrospect was that the right decision or the wrong decision was what the right decision? Going to Daniel and game three going Daniel was the correct No, if you had known at the beginning of the season we're gonna go to Dan and you can't know that but it Can't know that you're talking hypothetical now. You can't do that You know, I don't mean to be argumentative, but really you're saying it yourself as you're asking me I know but I mean that's a lot of money to spend on a backup quarterback And I understand all the things that he brings to the party He's a great guys a great representative of the organization, but you don't pay a backup quarterback twenty six million dollars He's also a great mentor He's teaching the keys. He's teaching the kid every day And you can't and and you cannot put a price tag on that But getting back you said there was no mandate about Eli But when you looked at and you thought you could do both you thought that you could win and rebuild Wasn't that part of the misjudgment the misjudgment of Eli? Correct um Leonard Williams Mm-hmm for a look see did you give up too many draft picks? No, I don't I don't feel that way at all You know, we we we really have a young defensive line. This was a chance to acquire a 26 a healthy 26 year old defensive lineman with a lot of versatility and Solid NFL production and you know, we felt he'd be better taking him would be We know the value was there for the third and the fifth round pick Did you think that the Jets or somebody else was gonna sign him before he became a free agent and doesn't he have all the Leverton out Dave and negotiating with you. I don't like so He keeps it been in my office. He told me he wants to be here. So we'll just work on it You made some trades last year And then obviously you dealt Odell The feeling might have been that the culture had to change around some of the players that you let go and yet you still Finished four and twelve. So do you have any regrets making the deals? The trades that you made at the time letting snacks go letting Odell go you still comfortable with those moves. Yes Why? Because I'm still comfortable with those moves Well, I was sorry the reason I asked why is because the team didn't improve it all matter of fact the law it was worse But did you you felt you were in rebuild at that particular point so the record doesn't matter No, the record always matters, but we felt we needed to rebuild Well, Dave, we know that you have to go right now You have a lot of interviews to conduct and things like that with perspective coaches more important than us We thank you for your time and we wish you a happy new year. Happy new year to you guys as well. All right Thank you very much. Okay, bye