EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement on Monday after four seasons on the job.
Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said a search for a new general manager will begin immediately.
The Giants (4-13) had a 19-46 record with Gettleman as GM, losing at least 10 games in all four seasons.
Gettleman, 70, was hired to replace Jerry Reese late in the 2017 season. He was just the Giants’ fourth general manager since 1979, and leaves with the shortest and least successful tenure of the bunch.
Mara and Tisch said Gettleman was retained in 2020 because they thought he deserved a chance to finish what he started. And head coach Joe Judge spoke highly of his working relationship with Gettleman and other key members of the front office late in the 2020 season.
But the results were much of the same. The Giants finished the 2021 season with their eighth losing season in nine years, with the final four under Gettleman’s watch.
His tenure began with the decision to stick with quarterback Eli Manning in 2018 and select running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick. Barkley rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, but his 2020 season ended after two games because of a torn ACL and injuries limited his production in 2021 as well.
Gettleman selected Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, hoping he had found a franchise quarterback to succeed Manning. Jones, however, has been inconsistent and has struggled with turnovers. His 2021 season ended early because of a neck injury as he missed the final six games.
In 2018, Gettleman signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a five-year extension worth up to $95 million and then traded him the next year to the Cleveland Browns in a multiplayer trade.
Meanwhile, some of his free-agent signings have failed to deliver on their hefty price tags, including offensive tackle Nate Solder, who received a four-year, $62 million contract in 2018 and wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract in 2021.
Gettleman is a cancer survivor who spent most of his first season as general manager with the Giants being treated for lymphoma. The former high school coach originally joined the franchise in 1998. He worked in pro personnel and was promoted to pro personnel director the following year. He stayed in that position for 12 seasons before serving as senior pro personnel analyst for the final season of his first stint with the team in 2012. He was the Carolina Panthers‘ GM from 2013 to 2017, before returning to New York.
Gettleman began his NFL career in 1986 with the Buffalo Bills. He has also worked for the Denver Broncos and has been a part of seven Super Bowl teams, including three winners.