New York Giants: Dave Gettleman’s growing disconnect

Condescending comments

Winston Churchill described tact as the ability to tell someone to go to Hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip. The job of an NFL General Manager requires a certain amount of tact. In a market like New York, it’s an even more important skill. It’s also a skill which is completely lost on Dave Gettleman. He seems to believe everyone should accept his condescending justifications for the things he does because nobody but he is smart enough to get it.

After the trade of Beckham to Cleveland, Gettleman was interviewed by Steve Politi of nj.com one-on-one. Here is an excerpt that reinforces his know-it-all attitude:

"“I think some people are still missing it,” the Giants general manager told NJ Advance Media in a wide-ranging 30-minute interview. “Football is the ultimate team game. If all 11 guys aren’t doing the right thing, you’re not going to be successful. There’s more to it than just collecting talent. There is a cultural thing to it that’s critical. I have not been on a team that’s gone to a Super Bowl that’s had a culture problem.” Did he have one with the Giants? “Not anymore,” he said with a satisfied smile."

WTH. Winning as the Pro Personnel Director when someone else is calling the shots, doesn’t give him the credentials or make him an expert in locker room chemistry. Gettleman comes off here as someone who finds it easier to get rid of a player who is critical of his “vision” than to deal with the situation.

Just a bit more from that interview that shows how self-important Gettleman thinks he is.

"“What I find interesting, there are people reporting and making judgments on what I do and how I do my job who don’t know the game, who have never been involved with a team, and have just been on the outside looking in,” he said. “The problem is, to me, is when a reporter makes a judgment and doesn’t have all the information. That’s a thing I just shake my head at.”"

That coming from the man who was exposed for his misreading of the draft, and who made decisions based on incorrect facts.

Moving on to his asinine defense of selecting Daniel Jones sixth. During an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio last month, the GM had this to say.

"“I had a sports writer ask me about waiting till pick 17. I asked him “you’ve been married a long time, did you wait for your wife to come to you?”"

I don’t know the rest of this exchange, but I know how I would have answered. “I love my wife more than anything, but even she knows I dated other people before we got married.”

The GM treats the media and fans with a smug arrogance that hasn’t been earned. Dave Gettleman continually comes off as someone who believes he’s smarter than everyone else and knows things nobody else does. The truth is he hasn’t won a thing in a decision making position.

Gettleman doesn’t get to be smug and condescending the way Bill Belichick does. The Patriots coach has won six titles as the head decision maker in New England. He has earned the right to act like he’s smarter because he has proven to be smarter than anyone else in the game. If Belichick comes off as smug in an interview, that’s too bad for the interviewer.

I once asked Yankees GM Brian Cashman about people second-guessing his decisions. He chalked it up as part of the job. Maybe if Gettleman had won anything while in charge, he might have the right to tell the rest of us that we “don’t get it.” Until then he gets to be second-guessed just like every other GM in sports.

Authors Note: I’ve followed the New York Giants for almost 50 years. I hope I’m dead wrong about Daniel Jones. I also hope I’m wrong about Beckham, Collins, Lawrence, and Baker. Odds are I probably am about one of them. I don’t need the GM of Big Blue to be a nice guy. What I do need is someone willing to do the job and not treat everyone who doesn’t agree when he makes highly questionable decisions, like an idiot that should be talked down to.

Win something on your own, Mr. Gettleman and earn the right to act smarter than the masses. Please prove me wrong, I want the Giants to succeed. I’ll be man enough to own up to my comments if I’m wrong. Until then, some mutual respect for those who make it possible for you to cash a paycheck would be nice.