The New York Giants are in the infant stages of what promises to be a long-term rebuild.
General manager David Gettleman made this clear by moving star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and selecting a project quarterback in Daniel Jones No. 6 overall in April’s draft.
The question here is just how patient the Giants’ brass, owner John Mara included, are going to be.
While Mara had good things to say about both Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur, a recent comment about the two stood out.
“I’m not satisfied with five wins,” Mara said, via Newsday, “but I think (they) have us headed in the right direction. We have a lot of confidence in them.”
At issue here is the Giants’ current roster. Not a single objective observer sees this team as a playoff contender in 2019. In fact, most have New York riding the cellar in the NFC East this coming season. How would Mara react if a rebuilding squad fails to even reach the five-win plateau?
The good news for this pairing is that he does seem confident about the way Gettleman is building things.
“I think the best thing for me about Dave is he makes decisions that he feels are in the best interest of the franchise,” Mara said. “He doesn’t give a damn what people think about it, be it media or be it fans or anybody. He has the courage of his convictions, and you have to have that. He set about to try to rebuild this team, change the culture in the locker room.”
If Mara’s expectations are contention this season, he’s going to be sorely mistaken.
The owner has already gone on record saying he’d prefer Daniel Jones sit the entire 2019 season. That seems to suggest that he has the foolhardy belief that Eli Manning can somehow recreate the magic of yesteryear. Based on recent developments, that’s highly unlikely to happen.