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The Dan Reeves Era, how was it perceived?

Sean : 11/13/2014 2:53 pm
My memory is in and out in regards to Dan Reeves coaching here.

-What was the reaction of the hire? Obviously he brought a lot of credibility off of a disastrous two seasons.

I remember the 11-5 season and playoff win against Minnesota, but then got smoked in SF. The following year they went 9-7 and misses the playoffs.

Reeves had it tough in that it was a transition from the Simms & LT years.

Were there any Giant fans who wanted him to stay after 96? Were most fans happy to see him go?

I find it interesting because Reeves got a job again soon after and did pretty well with the Falcons.
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I was behind the hire at the time  
Sneakers O'toole : 11/13/2014 2:54 pm : link
it essentially was an abject failure as he essentially tried to turn the Giants into Broncos east.
clearly  
Sneakers O'toole : 11/13/2014 2:54 pm : link
I like the word essentially
Have fans ever been upset when a coach gets fired?  
Blue Baller : 11/13/2014 2:55 pm : link
Next to winning a SB, I think a HC getting fired is a lot of fan's favorite thing

He  
Bubba : 11/13/2014 2:55 pm : link
brought much needed stability to a team that was floundering. But I never felt we was the guy to bring them back the SB.
Ed Mccaffrey liked the way it turned out  
jcn56 : 11/13/2014 2:56 pm : link
the rest of us? Not so much.
If Coughlin gets fired  
Sneakers O'toole : 11/13/2014 2:56 pm : link
or "retired" I'll be upset.
Everybody was glad to see him go  
Psycho : 11/13/2014 2:56 pm : link
The Giants should have gotten rid of him a year earlier but it was one of the owners (Tisch?) that didn't want to eat that last year of his contract, so they kept him as a lame duck and I think they finished 4-12 or something like that.
RE: Have fans ever been upset when a coach gets fired?  
jcn56 : 11/13/2014 2:56 pm : link
In comment 11976087 Blue Baller said:
Quote:
Next to winning a SB, I think a HC getting fired is a lot of fan's favorite thing


Some folks in Cleveland have had a few instances where they weren't happy, but I can't remember it elsewhere.
I remember being pretty damn happy about the hire.  
vibe4giants : 11/13/2014 2:56 pm : link
Given the situation, I'd be surprised if anyone remembers if differently, but it's an interesting question.


I also, sort of, remember the whole thing souring (relatively) quickly. For more than one reason. So by the time he left, I don't recall being upset.
RE: Have fans ever been upset when a coach gets fired?  
Psycho : 11/13/2014 2:58 pm : link
In comment 11976087 Blue Baller said:
Quote:
Next to winning a SB, I think a HC getting fired is a lot of fan's favorite thing

Uh...Cowboy fans are still pissed about Landry being fired, despite the three subsequent Super Bowls..
He was the third choice...  
Chris in Philly : 11/13/2014 2:58 pm : link
and perceived by many as settling. Many people were relieved to have a "professional" coach after such an incredible two years of upheaval. But he starting building Broncos East and it all went south from there. It was nice to have one last year of playoffs with LT and Phil, but then the franchise went dark for a while...
wut Chris said  
JonC : 11/13/2014 3:00 pm : link
Third choice, probably the best obvious hire they had in front of them, but he began clashing with GY shortly thereafter.
The '93 team was pretty good,  
Go Terps : 11/13/2014 3:00 pm : link
and could have made some serious noise if they beat Dallas for home field advantage.

It felt like the offense was ahead of its time, but the QB just wasn't there after Simms was cut. I suppose we deserved it...you don't cut Phil Simms and expect the gods to be ok with that.
RE: He was the third choice...  
vibe4giants : 11/13/2014 3:01 pm : link
In comment 11976100 Chris in Philly said:
Quote:
and perceived by many as settling.


The first choice, of course, was....
Didn't like the hire, didn't like the man  
Great White Ghost : 11/13/2014 3:04 pm : link
thought he was a prick. Came to NY and gutted the roster, and Venge fired Simms for whipping his ass like a greek slave in the super bowl.I was glad to see the back of him.Scumbag.
RE: RE: Have fans ever been upset when a coach gets fired?  
Blue Baller : 11/13/2014 3:05 pm : link
In comment 11976099 Psycho said:
Quote:
In comment 11976087 Blue Baller said:


Quote:


Next to winning a SB, I think a HC getting fired is a lot of fan's favorite thing



Uh...Cowboy fans are still pissed about Landry being fired, despite the three subsequent Super Bowls..


touche....but that was a pretty extraordinary circumstance

RE: RE: He was the third choice...  
Bramton1 : 11/13/2014 3:07 pm : link
In comment 11976106 vibe4giants said:
Quote:
In comment 11976100 Chris in Philly said:


Quote:


and perceived by many as settling.



The first choice, of course, was....


I know they asked Coughlin and Dave Wannstetd. Was TC the first choice?`
RE: RE: RE: He was the third choice...  
JonC : 11/13/2014 3:08 pm : link
In comment 11976121 Bramton1 said:
Quote:
In comment 11976106 vibe4giants said:


Quote:


In comment 11976100 Chris in Philly said:


Quote:


and perceived by many as settling.



The first choice, of course, was....



I know they asked Coughlin and Dave Wannstetd. Was TC the first choice?`


Yep, and Wannstedt was #2.
Wasn't Fassel on "hot" candidate at that time as well?  
drkenneth : 11/13/2014 3:10 pm : link
I remember TC and Wannstedt.
I don't think anyone was overjoyed about Reeves in particular  
Greg from LI : 11/13/2014 3:11 pm : link
But he started with a fair bit of goodwill in 1993 by simply not being Ray Handley, and then that season was a good one (though the ending was tough to take). Cutting ties with Banks and Marshall wasn't popular but made some sense as those guys were nearing the end, but releasing Pepper Johnson in his prime was just flat-out dumb, and earned him a lot of fan anger. He kept letting go of longtime Giants and bringing in crappy Broncos like Mike Horan, Mike Croel, Mark Jackson, and Arthur Marshall. 1995 was a season a lot of people were hopeful for, and when it turned into a disaster, most fans were through with Reeves.
Fassel got hot in '95 or '96  
JonC : 11/13/2014 3:12 pm : link
.
He was the last coach I remember  
NoPeanutz : 11/13/2014 3:15 pm : link
who wore a suit on the sideline. Mike Nolan did a few years later in SF (he was really the last) but it was a Reebok "branded" suit, in accordance with the apparrel contract and the directive from 345 Park Ave.

I wish football coaches would dress up again on the sideline like they used to, instead of wearing fugly and awkward Nike NFL golf shirts or windbreakers. It brought a sense of gravitas to the game. Made watching the NFL on Sunday feel more like a tradition and less like a commercial.

Coaches in suits and Jim Gordon on the radio. That's how I remember the early Reeves era.
Yup  
Zebra3 : 11/13/2014 3:19 pm : link
Gutted a Super Bowl team. That team he took over from Handley had great talent and a fierce defense.even after Rod Rust messed with it. Mike Nolan destroyed it. Reeve also brought us the worst QB performance of all time Tommy Maddox against the Eagles.
I remember Coughlin destroying Notre Dame's season in South Bend  
Go Terps : 11/13/2014 3:22 pm : link
a year after Holtz ran a fake punt on him up fifty points or something like that.

When you think about it Coughlin has been the coach for three insane upsets at three different places:

- BC over Notre Dame in '93
- Jacksonville over Denver in '96 playoffs
- XLII

Not bad.

eh, the '93 team was a last hurrah for a rapidly aging roster  
JonC : 11/13/2014 3:22 pm : link
11-5 and the Div round was very likely its full potential.
Dave Brown  
blueberry : 11/13/2014 3:24 pm : link
The Dave Brown years were as telling as could be for Reeves. There was not much to be done about that. The Cowboys were the strength of the division most of those years. Philly was tough. We had no passing game and the defense was spotty with some truly great players mixed in with some that didn't belong in the NFL.
The term "Era" seems too grand for his tenure - 4 yrs.  
Blackbeard : 11/13/2014 3:24 pm : link
His impact on The Giants was negative.
He was not admired by fans or players.
RE: Wasn't Fassel on  
Matt in SGS : 11/13/2014 3:24 pm : link
In comment 11976125 drkenneth said:
Quote:
I remember TC and Wannstedt.


Fassel wasn't hot in 1992, he was the Giants offensive coordinator after Handley delegated the job. He didn't get to be a hot coordinator until after his stops in Denver and Arizona.

As for Reeves, the bottom line was that he got the last gasp out of the Parcells core team and then after they transitioned to the Dave Brown era (which was the run Hampton into the ground era), Reeves began to clash with George Young on the setup that was agreed to (and coordinated with Frank Gifford). It reached a head in 1995 and by 1996, everyone was sick of it and we all knew that Reeves was not coming back.
RE: eh, the '93 team was a last hurrah for a rapidly aging roster  
Zebra3 : 11/13/2014 3:28 pm : link
In comment 11976146 JonC said:
Quote:
11-5 and the Div round was very likely its full potential.

Had Mike Sherrard remain healthy we would have went farther in the playoffs.
RE: RE: Wasn't Fassel on  
JonC : 11/13/2014 3:29 pm : link
In comment 11976151 Matt in SGS said:
Quote:
In comment 11976125 drkenneth said:


Quote:


I remember TC and Wannstedt.



Fassel wasn't hot in 1992, he was the Giants offensive coordinator after Handley delegated the job. He didn't get to be a hot coordinator until after his stops in Denver and Arizona.

As for Reeves, the bottom line was that he got the last gasp out of the Parcells core team and then after they transitioned to the Dave Brown era (which was the run Hampton into the ground era), Reeves began to clash with George Young on the setup that was agreed to (and coordinated with Frank Gifford). It reached a head in 1995 and by 1996, everyone was sick of it and we all knew that Reeves was not coming back.


Boomer Esiason's performance against NYG playing for the Cards in '96 reportedly left a big impression on the NYG brass.
RE: I remember Coughlin destroying Notre Dame's season in South Bend  
Matt in SGS : 11/13/2014 3:30 pm : link
In comment 11976145 Go Terps said:
Quote:
a year after Holtz ran a fake punt on him up fifty points or something like that.

When you think about it Coughlin has been the coach for three insane upsets at three different places:

- BC over Notre Dame in '93
- Jacksonville over Denver in '96 playoffs
- XLII

Not bad.


As a sophomore at BC in 1993, that was an amazing win, the BC students tore the goal posts down in the stadium and carried them to David Gordon's dorm room after he made the kick. Holtz was a complete dick running it up on BC in 1992 because he wanted to rub it in on the upstarts and he ran that fake punt up 38-0. Coughlin said afterwords that he passed up the Giants job, in part because he felt he had unfinished business at BC, including preparing to beat Notre Dame the next season pretty much the moment after they lost 51-3.
RE: RE: eh, the '93 team was a last hurrah for a rapidly aging roster  
JonC : 11/13/2014 3:30 pm : link
In comment 11976162 Zebra3 said:
Quote:
In comment 11976146 JonC said:


Quote:


11-5 and the Div round was very likely its full potential.


Had Mike Sherrard remain healthy we would have went farther in the playoffs.


I doubt it, even with him NYG was unlikely to defeat SF or Dallas in the playoffs, imo. Those two teams really cranked it up in the tourney and pulled away from the pack.

RE: RE: eh, the '93 team was a last hurrah for a rapidly aging roster  
drkenneth : 11/13/2014 3:31 pm : link
In comment 11976162 Zebra3 said:
Quote:
In comment 11976146 JonC said:


Quote:


11-5 and the Div round was very likely its full potential.


Had Mike Sherrard remain healthy we would have went farther in the playoffs.


Mike Sherrard was Jerry Rice compared to the WRs before that. I still remember him breaking one, and he stumbled and broke his hip.
I wonder if Pepper's release  
Scott Brunner : 11/13/2014 3:39 pm : link
was related at all to his attitude during the Handley/Rust era. As was mentioned in earlier thread he basically said I'll do what I want on D. My guess is Reeves didn't want someone like that on his new team. It's a shame because Pepper still had several good years left in him and was an All-Pro in 94.

I always found it funny that there was a perception that Reeves didn't get enough input on personnel w/ the Giants. I'm sure GY wanted to cut Landeta and bring in Mike Horan. If they'd kept Landeta they wouldn't have had to waste a 3rd rd pick on Maynard.
RE: I wonder if Pepper's release  
Chris in Philly : 11/13/2014 3:40 pm : link
In comment 11976182 Scott Brunner said:
Quote:
was related at all to his attitude during the Handley/Rust era. As was mentioned in earlier thread he basically said I'll do what I want on D. My guess is Reeves didn't want someone like that on his new team. It's a shame because Pepper still had several good years left in him and was an All-Pro in 94.

I always found it funny that there was a perception that Reeves didn't get enough input on personnel w/ the Giants. I'm sure GY wanted to cut Landeta and bring in Mike Horan. If they'd kept Landeta they wouldn't have had to waste a 3rd rd pick on Maynard.


I agree. It made my blood boil that Reeves would constantly battle Young when Young let him bring every piece of shit Bronco castoff he could get his hands on...
JonC  
Scott Brunner : 11/13/2014 3:41 pm : link
IMO, if Sherrod doesn't get hurt they win The Jets game and the Cardinals game so at worst they're 13 and 3 and playing Dallas and or SF in a cold Meadowlands. It's amazing they did as well as they did w/ Chris Calloway as their top receiving threat.
RE: RE: RE: eh, the '93 team was a last hurrah for a rapidly aging roster  
Matt M. : 11/13/2014 3:42 pm : link
In comment 11976171 drkenneth said:
Quote:
In comment 11976162 Zebra3 said:


Quote:


In comment 11976146 JonC said:


Quote:


11-5 and the Div round was very likely its full potential.


Had Mike Sherrard remain healthy we would have went farther in the playoffs.



Mike Sherrard was Jerry Rice compared to the WRs before that. I still remember him breaking one, and he stumbled and broke his hip.


My dad used to joke that instead of Gatorade, they needed to give Sherrard milk on the sidelines. That play was, I believe, the third broken bone he suffered in his short career and at least two of them were non-contact.
Matt  
Scott Brunner : 11/13/2014 3:45 pm : link
I'm a big ND fan and I was livid when Holtz ran that fake punt. My buddies I was watching they game w/ were all laughing but I knew that TC was the real deal and he would eventually get his revenge. I imagine it's what he used for motivation for a whole year.
at the time...  
BillKo : 11/13/2014 3:46 pm : link
I thought it was cool that Reeves always wore a shirt and tie.

And I also did think he was a good hire, after all, he was a very accomplished coach.

But like all coaches that have the type of success he had in Denver, he wanted more power and say in personnel and that belonged to GY.
RE: I wonder if Pepper's release  
Matt in SGS : 11/13/2014 3:46 pm : link
In comment 11976182 Scott Brunner said:
Quote:
was related at all to his attitude during the Handley/Rust era. As was mentioned in earlier thread he basically said I'll do what I want on D. My guess is Reeves didn't want someone like that on his new team. It's a shame because Pepper still had several good years left in him and was an All-Pro in 94.

I always found it funny that there was a perception that Reeves didn't get enough input on personnel w/ the Giants. I'm sure GY wanted to cut Landeta and bring in Mike Horan. If they'd kept Landeta they wouldn't have had to waste a 3rd rd pick on Maynard.


Pepper was released because he didn't want to play SSLB in the new defense. He was coming up to be a free agent after 1993. When Reeves took over, the Giants signed Carlton Bailey to play on ILB and Pepper was the other. Banks was a free agent and the Giants slapped a franchise tag on him, and LT was coming back for his final season. As the offseason went along, the Broncos released Michael Brooks and the Giants decided to sign him and took the transition tag off Banks (who signed with Washington). Brooks was put in at ILB and Pepper was shifted to Banks' spot. Pepper wanted a new contract, but the Giants wouldn't give it to him and he complained about playing a new position, which he wasn't comfortable and wouldn't put up the numbers he wanted in order to get his contract and felt he was better than Bailey or Brooks. Along the way he threw in the NJ Broncos thing. Reeves decided it was time to send a message and cut him because he didn't want to play the position that the Giants wanted him to, and he gave the job to Corey Miller.

In the end, it was all about the money. Brooks and Bailey were given big money, so they had to play. Pepper wanted his money, either in 1993 or to set up for 1994. It became clear that the Giants and Pepper's interest didn't align anymore, so he had to go.
I remember being OK with the hire.  
Matt M. : 11/13/2014 3:47 pm : link
It would have been interesting to have BBI back then. I knew Tom coughlin, but not enough to have formulated an opinion as the first choice. Wannstedt would have been an interesting choice. But, even as a third choice, Reeves was a coach who was, at least at the time, viewed by many as professional and had the pedigree of a couple of SB appearances to go along with decent stops as an assistant prior.

Then the 1993 record falsely lifted out expectations for a team that was in the process of being gutted. I always maintained that with another coach Brown could have been at least a decent QB. Reeves ruined him and then wrecked Hampton's career as well.

Cutting Simms was controversial to fans, but may have been the right call. It just should have been handled better so that publicly it didn't appear as brutal. I think if Simms were truly healthy, he would have taken the Cleveland job.
correction  
Matt in SGS : 11/13/2014 3:48 pm : link
Banks got a transition tag, not a franchise tag.
Happy initialy  
Sec 103 : 11/13/2014 3:50 pm : link
total disaster. As someone posted earlier, tried to take a smash mouth Giants team and turn them into a Broncos east...
Horrible
Another that annoyed me about Reeves  
Scott Brunner : 11/13/2014 3:58 pm : link
was his use of the running backs. He takes over a team w/ a fullback that gained 500 yards at 5 yards a carry then discovers another back due to injury that runs for 100 yards a game not to mention having Meggett but still proceeds to run Hampton into the ground despite having several options to lessen his work load in 93.

I was also baffled that he no idea how to make use of Herschel Walker in 95. I realize Walker was old be the previous year in Philly he had over 500 yards rushing & receiving and was also 1 of the leagues top kick returners.
Michael Brooks was the only one of the Jersey Broncos who was worth  
Greg from LI : 11/13/2014 3:59 pm : link
a damn. He was a decent MLB for a few seasons before going downhill. All of the rest of them - Horan, Marshall, Croel, Treadwell, Jackson - sucked ass.

Hey, remember when Coleman Rudolph was our MLB? Good times!
I rememeber a Daily News  
GMANinDC : 11/13/2014 4:03 pm : link
article with Reeves saying that he didn't want alot of power or control but yet be bought all guys in from Denver. That was always the problem, he wanted full control..

Didn't like the Fassel but i thought he got very bad personnel to work with..Between changing the starter every year to not having any real offensive talent killed his momentum he had..

until some of the blowouts of recent years....  
Greg from LI : 11/13/2014 4:04 pm : link
....my low point as a Giants fan was MNF versus Dallas in the 1995 season opener. I had so much hope that they turned the corner during that six game winning streak to close out 1994, and to see them so thoroughly dominated in Giants Stadium on Phil Simms' jersey retirement ceremony game? With the cameras constantly showing Jerruh chortling on the sidelines with Phil Knight and Monica Seles? God, that one hurt.
Scott  
JonC : 11/13/2014 4:06 pm : link
Those two teams were very different in the playoffs, I don't think venue would've mattered enough for that NYG team to win. Fans tend to overrate the '93 team largely because of the narrow loss at home to Dallas, that was a very flawed team in an era where pitiful offense didn't win in the playoffs.
during the vast majority of the 90s  
Enzo : 11/13/2014 4:21 pm : link
it just seemed like we were stuck in the dark ages on offense. Compared to what was happening around the league with the increase in passing starting in 94 or so....we just didn't have the horses to keep up. Did we have the worst (or least dynamic) skill position players of any team in the league during that decade? I'm not sure but there couldn't be too many teams worse off than we were at RB and WR, not to mention QB.
RE: until some of the blowouts of recent years....  
Matt in SGS : 11/13/2014 4:41 pm : link
In comment 11976238 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
....my low point as a Giants fan was MNF versus Dallas in the 1995 season opener. I had so much hope that they turned the corner during that six game winning streak to close out 1994, and to see them so thoroughly dominated in Giants Stadium on Phil Simms' jersey retirement ceremony game? With the cameras constantly showing Jerruh chortling on the sidelines with Phil Knight and Monica Seles? God, that one hurt.


I drove down from Boston with my roommates to go to that game and the plan was to stay over by my parents house afterwards because of the long drive back and it being late. I was so pissed off after that game, that I couldn't sleep so we piled back in the car and they all slept while I drove back to Boston and got back to campus at 4 AM.
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