New York Giants: Retaining Reese and Coughlin the Right Move?

The long awaited decision was finally revealed as Giants owner John Mara confirmed that GM Jerry Reese and Head Coach Tom Coughlin will return in 2015. This decision was made despite the team finishing 7-9 in 2013 and 6-10 in 2014, although Mr. Mara made it clear that he expects significant improvement in 2015.

In the news conference, Mr. Mara expressed the conversation between him, Reese and Coughlin was very positive and everyone was on the same page on which direction they envisioned the team to be in 2015. If you are experiencing déjà vu right now, it might be because this statement by Mr. Mara sounds very similar to last season after the Giants finished with a 7-9 record.

GM Jerry Reese overall body of work as the Giants GM started out strong, but has declined with each passing year. If not for the drafting of Odell Beckham Jr; Reese would have had another marginal draft in 2014. Reese has been adamant on selecting players that were considered projects/reaches (i.e.: Adrien Robinson, Marvin Austin) while passing on prospects with better credentials.  Reese must have a solid draft in 2015 as the team will be selecting 9^th in every round (7 picks, not including possible compensation). If not, then it will hard to imagine Mr. Mara giving Reese another vote of confidence to remain as the Giants GM after 2015.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s overall body of work as the Giants Head Coach is impressive during his 11-year span. In my opinion, Tom Coughlin is a future Hall of Famer at this point; the same can’t be said of Jerry Reese.

Are we to believe or assume that since Tom Coughlin is returning, then so are defensive coordinator Perry Fewell  and Specials teams Coordinator Tom Quinn. Based on Tom Coughlins history and the fact that ownership has given Coughlin full reign on selecting/firing his coaching staff; Fewell and Quinn could be returning as well. For those of you who support Perry Fewell as the Defensive Coorinator and feel that he did the best he could this season with all the injuries; keep this in mind.  

Aside from finishing 29^th in total defense this season, 30^th in stopping the run (135.1) and 22^nd in points allowed (25.0) in 2014. The Giants haven't made the playoffs in four of Fewell's five years. Of course Perry Fewell should not being blamed entirely, however; overall his defenses as the Giants DC have been more consistently in the bottom 10 than in the top 10 in the league. Giants made a bold move last season in hiring McAdoo and the results have been beneficial not only to the Giants offense, but also to Eli Manning. The Giants need to do the same with the defense and special teams in 2015. They need to infuse new energy and fresh ideas.