Getty Arrowhead Stadium, where Armani Watts played for the last four seasons.
With Black Monday leading to four head coaches in the NFL being fired, a well-known executive also parted ways with his former team on the same day.
New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement on Monday, January 10, per the team.
Dave Gettleman announces retirement; Giants to begin search for next GM
Details: t.co/oyKyi1FPMa
Enter, a Kansas City Chiefs front-office executive.
As part of the hiring process, New York will interview Kansas City’s director of player personnel, Ryan Poles, for their general manager vacancy, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Chiefs director of player personnel Ryan Poles will interview for the Giants GM job, per sources. He was a finalist for the Panthers GM job last year, and is considered one of the league’s top young evaluators.
(Was Matt Ryan’s left guard at Boston College, too.)
The latest Chiefs news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Chiefs newsletter here!
Poles a Tenured Member of Chiefs
Poles, 36, started as a scouting assistant for the Chiefs in 2009. Over the next 13 years, he would work his way up the ladder to the position he is currently in. Last year, he was a finalist for the Carolina Panthers general manager job. But he would lose to Scott Fitterer for the role.
If Poles were to be offered the Giants’ GM position and accept it, he would have his hands full.
Through two seasons as the Giants head coach, Joe Judge has accumulated a 10-23 record. This season, New York finished at the bottom of the NFC East with a 4-13 record.
New York was battered injuries, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. Receivers Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepherd, Kadarius Toney, and Darius Slayton missed a combined 24 games. Star running back Saquon Barkley also missed four games and tied backup running Devontae Booker in rushing yards (593) on a measly 3.7 yards per carry, per ESPN.
The biggest problem with the offense, however, is the quarterback position. Former first-round pick Daniel Jones struggled yet again this season; in 11 games played he completed 64% of his passes for 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, according to Pro Football Reference. He also lost three fumbles.
New York owns the No. 5 and No. 7 overall picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. They have nine total picks in the draft, and rank second overall in the league in terms of quality of assets, according to Tankathon. That’s a great situation to be in draft-wise for a new general manager to come in and re-shape the team quickly.
However, New York’s cap situation is going to be a nightmare heading into the offseason.
Thanks to the poor work of Gettleman, the Giants will enter the 2022 offseason with a projected $2 million in cap space, per NJ.com. Because of that, cutting ties with some of the team’s big contracts and waiting a year to free up some cap space is likely in the cards for whoever takes over as the general manager.
While a reclamation project may be intriguing to someone like Poles, it may also scare him away given how bad the situation really is in New York.
Giants on Qualities for New GM
Giants owner John Mara detailed the qualities he will be looking for in the team’s next general manager.
“This will be a comprehensive search for our next general manager,” Mara wrote in a statement. We are looking for a person who demonstrates exceptional leadership and communication abilities, somebody who will oversee all aspects of our football operations, including player personnel, college scouting and coaching.”
Ownership statement on GM search
“It is an understatement to say John and I are disappointed by the lack of success we have had on the field,” Giants co-owner Steve Tisch also said in a statement. “We are united in our commitment to find a general manager who will provide the direction necessary for us to achieve the on-field performance and results we all expect.”