Jerry Reese is in his sixth season as the Giants’ Senior Vice President and General Manager. Reese is one of the most successful general managers in the NFL. His first five seasons as head of the franchise’s football operations included victories in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI, a 49-31 regular season record and an 8-1 postseason mark. During his tenure the Giants have won two NFC East championships, earned three postseason berths and have finished .500 or better in every season.
Jerry Reese is in his sixth season as the Giants’ Senior Vice President and General Manager. Reese is one of the most successful general managers in the NFL. His first five seasons as head of the franchise’s football operations included victories in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI, a 49-31 regular season record and an 8-1 postseason mark. During his tenure the Giants have won two NFC East championships, earned three postseason berths and have finished .500 or better in every season.
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 49 when the 2012 season begins, has been a member of the Giants organization since 1994. Prior to becoming the G.M., he spent 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 as the players were selected. 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 the position 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.
The selection of Reese was historic, as he was 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 absolutely perfect timing for this to happen,” Reese said. “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.”
Reese and the Giants succeeded again in 2011. In the transaction frenzy that followed the end of the lockout, Reese added or re-signed several players who became stalwarts on the Super Bowl champions, including center David Baas, punter Steve Weatherford, running back Ahmad Bradshaw, linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, offensive lineman Kevin Boothe, safety Deon Grant, defensive lineman Dave Tollefson and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard. Second-year pro Victor Cruz emerged from obscurity to set a franchise record with 1,536 receiving yards on 82 catches. He also scored a touchdown in the victory over New England in Super Bowl XLVI. The Giants added an impressive rookie class that included cornerback Prince Amukamara, the team’s top draft choice, fullback Henry Hynoski and four linebackers – Jacquian Williams, Greg Jones, Spencer Paysinger and Mark Herzlich – who all contributed during the course of the season. Tight end Jake Ballard, who played in only one game as a rookie in 2010, had a break out 2011 season with 38 catches.
Reese helped put the Giants on the road to a championship soon after becoming general manager in 2007. That year, 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. During the season, the Giants added important players like fullback Madison Hedgecock and wide receiver/kickoff returner Domenik Hixon.
In addition to helping the Giants win a championship as rookies, many of those players make significant contributions in later years. Smith shattered the franchise record with 107 receptions in 2009. Bradshaw led the Giants in rushing each of the previous two seasons, with 1,235 yards – the seventh-highest total in Giants history - in 2010 and 659 yards in 2011, when he added a team-high 272 yards in the playoffs. DeOssie is a two-time Pro Bowl long snapper who has never missed a game in his career.
In 2008, Reese’s ability to acquire important players helped the Giants win the NFC east title with a 12-4 record. Linebacker Danny Clark was signed in March and was the Giants’ starting strongside linebacker for two years. Backup David Carr is the team’s backup quarterback for the fourth time in five seasons. When 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 and Mario Manningham, all of whom made significant contributions to successful teams. Thomas has led the Giants in tackles and interceptions in both 2009 and 2010 before missing the 2011 season with a knee injury.
The 2009 draft class was headlined by wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. As a rookie, Nicks caught 47 passes for 790 yards, both the third-highest total among rookies in Giants history – despite missing two games. Nicks’ 790 yards tied for first among all NFL rookies with Minnesota’s Percy Harvin. In 2010, Nicks emerged with 79 catches for 1,052 yards and 11 touchdowns in only 13 games. Last year, Nicks had 1,192 receiving yards to join Cruz as the only pair of Giants in history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Will Beatty, chosen on the second round in 2009, is the team’s starting left tackle. That year, Reese also added veterans Michael Boley, Chris Canty and Bernard on defense. All three defenders were critical players in the 2011 title season.
Reese continued to acquire key players in 2010. He shored up a position where the Giants were short-staffed by importing safeties Antrel Rolle and Grant. Those two safeties teamed with Phillips to give the Giants much-improved play at that vital position. Rolle was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl team.
The 2010 first-round draft choice was defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, whose 4.5 sacks were the most by a Giants rookie since Cornelius Griffin had 5.0 in 2000. Pierre-Paul had two sacks vs. Jacksonville on Nov. 28 and two against Washington the following week to become the first rookie in Giants history with at least two sacks in consecutive games. In 2011, Pierre-Paul was one of the very best defensive players in the NFL. His 16.5 sacks were the fourth-highest total in Giants history. JPP joined Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and Michael Strahan as the only Giants with at least 16 sacks in a season. Pierre-Paul was selected to his first Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He was twice selected NFC Defensive Player of the Week in December – when he was also named NFC Defensive Player of the Month.
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 and beyond.
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.
