Tom Rock: Former Giants GM Jerry Reese deserves to be in the club's Ring of Honor

In four years with the Giants, Joe Schoen has produced an overall record of 23-46-1, never finished better than third in the division, made the playoffs once on the strength of a roster he had very little to do with assembling, has since overseen the departure of most of the key players from that one successful campaign, and in the last few months has had some of his responsibilities usurped by a new coach.

This past week, the Giants gave him an extension on his contract.

Imagine what they would have done if he had won something on his watch? Something like a Super Bowl? Or two? They would put him in the Ring of Honor.

That’s what Jerry Reese did, but for some reason he does not yet have his name on the signage at MetLife Stadium.

Many of the players he helped bring to the Giants are up there, and the Roman numeral logos of the championship teams he played a huge role in building are hard to miss, but Reese himself isn’t included in the nods to Giants history.

It’s time to change that. The Giants need to put Reese in their Ring of Honor, and this is the year to do it.

Yes, his departure left some bad feelings on both sides. He and coach Ben McAdoo were fired the day after the two of them set in motion the decisions that resulted in the end of Eli Manning’s consecutive starts streak  and Geno Smith playing in his place in 2017. And the end of his tenure wasn’t as successful as the beginning was; the Giants had one winning season in his last five.

But Reese’s overall winning percentage as general manager of the Giants was .532, the second-highest in franchise history. The only Giants GM with a better mark than Reese is Harry March, the football mind behind Tim Mara’s business acumen in the first eight years of the team’s existence. He posted a .624 winning percentage.

March, by the way, isn’t in the Ring of Honor, either. But that’s for another column. Or maybe a missed opportunity for one 90 years ago.

There are two general managers who are in the Ring of Honor, though: George Young and Ernie Accorsi. They deserve to be there for their impact not only on winning but on the culture of the organization — but Reese’s record is better than each of theirs and he won just as many Super Bowls as Young did.

The popular knock against Reese is that he won those titles with Accorsi’s roster. It’s true that he took over in 2007, just in time to reap the rewards of a slew of acquisitions that were poised to pay off: Manning, Justin Tuck, Chris Snee, Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan as draft picks, Antonio Pierce and Plaxico Burress as free agents and Tom Coughlin as coach. But Reese was Accorsi’s lieutenant for almost all of those fateful decisions.

He had been with the organization as a scout and then an executive since 1994. All of those moves were Accorsi’s, but Reese played a role in them. And when they were ready to blossom into a championship-caliber squad, he, too, was ready to steer the ship.

It’s also worth noting that those who have followed Reese have added to his luster. Dave Gettleman replaced him in 2017 and in four years posted a winning percentage of .292. Gettleman’s departure begot Schoen and his .329 mark.

The Giants probably were too impetuous in firing Reese. Now they are being too deliberate in waiting to honor him.

The Giants began their Ring of Honor when they moved into MetLife Stadium in 2010 and inducted 30 men that year, a wide-ranging class that included everyone from Tim Mara and Tuffy Leemans to Tiki Barber and Amani Toomer. Since then they have added 20 more. But they haven’t increased their numbers since 2022.

The team already has announced that it will honor the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Super Bowl-winning team at the Oct. 4 home game this year. That gives them eight other home games to select from to add a Ring of Honor induction ceremony to the schedule.

There are plenty of deserving people who can be considered for the distinction.

None, though, more than Reese.

It’s hard to envision a time when any of the players from the past decade reach the Ring. A lot has to do with their lack of winning, but it also is because of the acrimonious departures. Saquon Barkley, Dexter Lawrence and Odell Beckham Jr. are certainly among the most productive and talented players to wear a Giants uniform, but the small length of their tenures with the Giants and the circumstances under which those stays in New York ended make it unlikely they would make it. Time can heal wounds and perhaps one day attitudes will change. Heck, Beckham may even be back in a Giants uniform at some point this season. But for now they are probably going to be excluded.

And assuming John Mara doesn’t have the brazen gumption to pull an Arthur Blank and put himself into his own Ring of Honor as the Falcons owner did, he’ll probably have to wait until someone else is signing off on those decisions before he takes his rightful place there.  

So who else besides Reese should be considered?

Here is a look at five other potential candidates for upcoming Ring of Honor classes:

VICTOR CRUZ

When Madonna promotes her Super Bowl halftime show by doing the dance move you made famous, you’ve made it. That’s a big part of why Cruz should be considered. There are players from his era who had better numbers than he did (Sterling Shepard, Hakeem Nicks) but it’s hard to say anyone other than Beckham and his one-handed grab had put the kind of dent into the cultural zeitgeist the way Cruz did. He arrived with a splash catching three remarkable touchdown passes in the first preseason football game at MetLife Stadium against the Jets. The following year he debuted his salsa dance celebration against the Eagles, got the Giants into the playoffs with a 99-yard touchdown catch and run on Christmas Eve against the Jets once again, caught 10 tough passes for 142 yards in the NFC Championship Game, and then caught a touchdown in the Super Bowl. He only played parts of five seasons for the Giants but as a beloved figure who grew up in Paterson, N.J., and then bucked the odds as an undrafted receiver, Cruz’s narrative and local impact make him just as worthy of inclusion — perhaps more so even — as his 303 catches (12th most in franchise history) and 25 touchdowns (17th) do.

BILL BELICHICK

Part of the reason for suggesting this is curiosity about the acceptance speech he would deliver, but Belichick deserves to be there. His love for the Giants is well documented, his part in the first two Super Bowl championships is undeniable, and, come to think of it, he actually played a significant role in all four Giants Super Bowl victories! If the Giants are already honoring the 1986 team this year, they should carve out a separate day to fete the defensive coordinator of that squad. Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and Harry Carson are all undoubtedly very good players without Belichick, but having him draw up the game plans for them, coax extra from them, and even serve as a sometimes buffer between them and coach Bill Parcells helped to make them great as they were. For the better part of a decade, long before he became the most decorated coach the game has seen, Belichick made the Giants the Giants.

TOM LANDRY

Belichick opens the door for assistant coaches and coordinators to be in the Ring of Honor and it’s hard to have him there without including Landry and Vince Lombardi as well. Lombardi already has the trophy and the nearby rest stop on the Turnpike named after him, so we’ll put Landry in first. Here are a few more reasons: He was an All-Pro defensive back while serving as a player-coach and had 31 career interceptions in just 72 games for the Giants and he basically invented the position of defensive coordinator as well as the 4-3 defense that created a new position (middle linebacker) and its archetype (Sam Huff). And finally, wouldn’t it be nice to remind all those smug Cowboys fans who overrun the building each year and that before he ever put on that famous fedora, Landry’s true allegiance was to the Giants?

BENNY FRIEDMAN

Talk about a long time coming. When Tim Mara couldn’t make a deal to acquire Friedman from the Detroit Wolverines in 1929 he simply bought the entire Detroit franchise for $10,000 to give his Giants a new quarterback. Friedman shattered the league record with 20 touchdown passes in 1929 and his drawing power helped the Giants establish their roots in New York. Friedman’s tenure with the Giants was short (as most pro football careers were in those days) but his impact was huge. On the cover of one of the Giants’ game programs from that era he was called “The World’s Greatest Forward Passer.” He also helped lead the revolt against hardline coach LeRoy Andrews that resulted in his being named one of the player-coaches for the last two games in 1930. The other mutineer who became player-coach that year? Inaugural Ring of Honor member Steve Owen, who would then hang on to the job in a full time capacity for another 23 seasons.

BOB PAPA

The Giants have four owners, two athletic trainers, a punter and a kicker in the Ring of Honor. After 32 seasons as the voice of the Giants and having called more games than anyone else in the team’s history, perhaps it is time to consider a broadcaster. Papa certainly had nothing to do with any of the outcomes of the hundreds of games he has described, but it’s hard to imagine Plaxico Burress’ touchdown to win Super Bowl XLII or Mario Manningham’s sideline catch in Super Bowl XLVI without Papa’s voice narrating the action. In an era when football’s television ratings are through the roof, Papa’s radio broadcasts are must-listens for true Giants fans. Marty Glickman is probably just as worthy and he was the main radio voice of the team during a time of TV blackouts when listening was the only way to stay abreast of the action, but he only held the job for 16 years. Papa has been doing it twice as long. Papa has been on the job so long that three of his long-time broadcasting partners are in the Ring of Honor as players: Dick Lynch, Dave Jennings and Carl Banks. It would not be terrible if Papa joined them there.