There is no backing down by Dave Gettleman, the general manager tasked with finding the next franchise quarterback, the man responsible for assigning that job to Daniel Jones, the executive who knows he will one day have to tell Eli Manning it is time to go.
The hard decisions, such as shipping out Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon and not signing Landon Collins, they all pale in comparison with the transition forthcoming, be it at mid-season, or later in the winter of perhaps even after the season is complete. At one point, Jones moves in and Manning is moved out.
“I don’t take any of this lightly, none of it, when you’re dealing with people you don’t take one part of that lightly,’’ Gettleman said Friday on day No. 2 of Giants training camp. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, you’re saying something difficult to somebody, you have got to make sure you give them their dignity.
“In life it’s not so much the message, it’s the delivery. These guys have put their heart and soul on the line for you, the blood sweat and tears and you have to respect that.’’
Gettleman has made no secret of his desire to provide to the Giants with the stability at quarterback his friend, Ernie Accorsi, did back in 2004 when he secured Manning. The choice of Jones, a Manning clone out of Duke, was controversial enough, and taking him so high (No. 6 overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft set the dogs out on Gettleman for overreaching for a player few evaluated as highly as the Giants.
Manning heading into his 16th season is the starter and Jones as a rookie is the backup. What Gettleman liked about Jones a few months ago he likes even better now.
“The amount of film we watched on Daniel, the amount of background work we did on him, the interviewing of him, the personal contact time we had with him, all that in one spot and what he did out here since his feet have hit the ground here, starting with rookie mini-camp,’’ Gettleman said. “You guys have seen rookie mini camps, it doesn’t even resemble football. Our offense, it looked like football.
Eli Manning throws a pass at Giants training camp while rookie Daniel Jones watches.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post“You look at all that stuff and I look at the way he’s handled [the media] and dealt with the tough questions you’ve asked and the tough things he’s encountered since he got here, I look at all that stuff. I know he’s got the talent, there’s no doubt in my mind.’’
Jones was booed when his face was shown on the big board at Yankee Stadium and he shrugged it off. Kurt Warner, a Hall of Fame quarterback who was benched to get Manning onto the field in 2004, said this week he is unconvinced Jones can carry a team with his physical ability.
Gettleman takes it all in and remains steadfast.
“Think about the great quarterbacks you’ve seen,’’ he said. “Not the guy who had a great season. All-time great quarterbacks. Think about all the things that made them great, all the qualities they had and it wasn’t just physical qualities. It was the mental qualities, it was the ability to take responsibility.’’
Does this mean there is greatness in Jones?
“I think he’s got tremendous upside, how’s that?’’ Gettleman said.
The flip-side of all this is how the endgame plays out with Manning. Gettleman said the decision on when a change is made rests with coach Pat Shurmur and added “At the end of the day it’s gonna be clear when anything happens.’’
There was a pause when Gettleman was asked if he has prepared himself to say goodbye to Manning.
“That’s a really hard question,’’ he said. “As long as you do everything the right way, that’s how you prepare yourself. In your mind you go through the things you need to go through and you do it like a pro. There’s always the human piece of this that makes it difficult.’’



