Former Giants GM Dave Gettleman takes shots at media ‘clowns’

The New York Giants have been operating under the leadership of general manager Joe Schoen for the last three offseasons now. Schoen took over as general manager in the 2022 offseason, succeeding former GM Dave Gettleman who led New York’s front office from 2018 to 2021.

Gettleman has been heavily criticized for the work he did as the Giants’ general manager during his tenure. Since stepping down after the 2021 season, Gettleman has been mostly quiet. He’s kept to himself and rarely commented on the Giants or the NFL. But recently, Gettleman did an interview with Neil Stratton of Inside the League (h/t Giants Wire). During this conversation, the Giants’ former general manager took aim at the “clowns” in sports media.

Dave Gettleman takes aim at media “clowns”

During his conversation with Stratton, Gettleman took aim at sports media. He criticized the media’s critical attitude toward NFL teams and even went as far as to call media personalities “clowns” during his tangent:

“I finally broke down and got a subscription to The Athletic,” Gettleman said. “Partly because it was $1 a month. But it’s like anything else. You got this guy giving every team grades, but you’ve got to be kidding me. Who are you? What have you done? When have you put your nuts on the line?

“But sadly, you got owners listening to these clowns, and even GMs listening to these clowns.”

The Giants haven’t received a whole lot of criticism from the media this offseason, however. They have been largely praised for their offseason moves and received high grades for their 2024 draft class. The blockbuster trade to acquire pass-rusher Brian Burns was also universally praised and the media seems high on the team’s current front office.

Granted, the media was rather critical of the team during Gettleman’s tenure, which has probably fueled his dissent toward the media. But the media’s criticisms were valid based on the results that Gettleman’s team delivered across his four seasons.

How did the Giants fare with Gettleman at the helm?

Gettleman’s tenure with the Giants was largely unsuccessful. During his four seasons as general manager, New York never had a winning season. The team went 19–46 (.292) during the Gettleman era and reached .500 only once, during Week 4 of the 2019 season.

Following Gettleman’s departure, the Giants immediately returned to prominence (albeit a brief stint back near the top). They made the playoffs in 2022, Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll’s first season with the organization. They have since struggled to maintain that success, but the Giants are certainly headed in a more encouraging direction under Schoen’s leadership than they were when Gettleman had led the team.