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Jerry Reese

In this third year on the job, Jerry Reese is already one of the most successful general managers in the NFL. Reese’s first two seasons at the top of the franchise’s football operations included a 22-10 regular season record, a victory in Super Bowl XLII and an NFC East championship. The Giants are one of just two teams to advance to postseason play each of the last four seasons (along with the Indianapolis Colts).

Reese was named the Giants’ Senior Vice President and General Manager on Jan. 16, 2007. He succeeded Ernie Accorsi, who had held the positions for nine years before retiring. Reese, who will be 46 when the 2009 season begins, has been with the Giants since 1994. Prior to becoming the G.M., he had spent the previous four seasons as the team’s Director of Player Personnel. Reese coordinated the Giants’ college scouting, was in charge of the team’s draft preparation and ran the draft room during the two days of player selections. When Accorsi retired, the team’s ownership selected Reese as the team’s third general manager since 1979, when the late George Young assumed the position. Young held it until 1997, when Accorsi took over. Accorsi, who had helped convince Reese to leave college scouting and join the pro personnel department of the Giants, promoted him and championed his cause.
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“We felt that Jerry was the right man at the right time in the right place,” John Mara, the Giants’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said at the news conference announcing Reese’s appointment. “I’ve had the opportunity to observe Jerry’s work firsthand throughout his time here, and he has demonstrated extraordinary leadership skills, intelligence, confidence, a superior work ethic and an outstanding ability to evaluate players. Jerry earned this position the old-fashioned way: through hard work and dedication, being promoted through the ranks, and demonstrating a unique set of skills that caused us to take notice of him very early on. He has earned the respect and admiration of everyone in this organization from the first day he walked in the door and we are very excited about his ability to lead our team in the future.”

 “Change is not always necessary just for change’s sake,” said Jonathan Tisch, the team’s treasurer. “(With Reese’s promotion), we were able to continue the continuity that is embedded in this organization, that has been around historically since the Mara family took over and since my family has been fortunate to have been partners for the past 16 years, and reflect upon Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch and move forward with an organization that is strong and wants to put a winning product on the field. That will now happen under Jerry Reese’s leadership.”

The selection of Reese was historic, as he was the the third African-American general
manager in NFL history, joining Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome and Houston’s Rick Smith. It was particularly poignant for Reese to learn of his appointment on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

“I thought about that a lot and it was perfect timing,” Reese said. “It was absolutely perfect timing for this to happen. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but I really feel it’s my time to carry the torch. There are many people who went before me who really suffered through this process, and now it’s my time. I’m going to be successful – I have to be successful on a lot of levels.”

Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, with Washington in January 1988, carried the Lombardi Trophy to the stage set up on the field following the Super Bowl. Reese and Williams correspond regularly.

“After the Super Bowl, Doug called me about three different times, emailed me, texted me, and he called me and he just said, ‘You made me so proud,’” Reese said. “Those are the kind of calls that mean so much, because Doug really kind of paved the way for African-Americans, saying, ‘You know what, there can be an African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl, there can be an African-American general manager who can lead his team to the Super Bowl.’”

Reese helped put the Giants on the road to a championship soon after becoming general manager. He re-signed center Shaun O’Hara, which kept the offensive line intact, and added linebacker Kawika Mitchell via free agency and running back Reuben Droughns and kicker Lawrence Tynes in trades. He drafted eight players – Aaron Ross, Steve Smith, Jay Alford, Zak DeOssie, Kevin Boss, Adam Koets, Michael Johnson and Ahmad Bradshaw – who all played during the postseason. Most of them made vital contributions to the Giants’ cause. During the season, the Giants added important players like fullback Madison Hedgecock and wide receiver/kickoff returner Domenik Hixon.

Reese’s ability to acquire important players was again evident in 2008. Linebacker Danny Clark was signed in March and was the Giants’ starting strongside linebacker. David Carr was such a solid backup quarterback, the Giants had only two signal-callers on their roster the entire season. When kicker Lawrence Tynes was injured in the preseason, Reese signed 21-year veteran John Carney, whose 143 points were the second-most in Giants history. The Giants also drafted Kenny Phillips, Terrell Thomas, Mario Manningham and Bryan Kehl, all of whom should contribute significantly to the team for many years.

While serving as the Giants’ Director of Player Personnel, Reese oversaw all aspects of the team’s college scouting. During his tenure as personnel director, the Giants drafted Eli Manning, Osi Umenyiora, David Diehl, David Tyree, Chris Snee, Gibril Wilson, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Mathias Kiwanuka, Corey Webster and Barry Cofield, all of whom played big roles in the championship season. All but Wilson remain on the roster.

Reese originally joined the Giants’ scouting department on Dec. 15, 1994. In the spring of 1999, he became Dave Gettleman’s assistant in the pro personnel department. In that position, he scouted the Giants’ upcoming opponents and evaluated NFL players. Reese was promoted to Director of Player Personnel on May 1, 2002.

Reese came to the Giants after a successful playing and coaching career at the University of Tennessee at Martin. During his college playing career (1981-1984), Reese was honored as a two-time All-Gulf South Conference pick. He is among the leaders on UT-Martin’s all-time career list in interceptions. Reese led the team with seven interceptions in 1982 and was UT-Martin's leading tackler in 1984 with 99. Reese was GSC Defensive Player of the Week three times during his career and was named team MVP following his senior season.

Following his playing career, Reese served as a student assistant and as a graduate assistant before becoming a full-time coach of the secondary from 1988 through 1993. He moved to coaching the receivers and assumed the assistant head coach title in January of 1993.

In 2008, Reese was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

Reese has his bachelor's degree in health and physical education and earned his master’s degree in education administration and supervision. In the fall of 1995, Reese was inducted into the U-T Martin Hall of Fame.

Reese a native of Tiptonville, Tenn. is married to the former Gwen Moore. They have two children, Jasmyne Danielle and Jerry II.