He’s largely credited with saving the Giants from oblivion & building the powerhouse 80’s and 90 team, but he also may‘ve made 2 of the worst mistakes in franchise history:
*Deciding Bill Belichick would never be a good HC in the NFL. Having Handley as the better option.
*Not carrying a cell phone, so when Tuna wanted to come back in ‘97 he had already left the house to hire Fassel and nobody could get in touch with him.
What are your lasting feelings of George? Savior? The most damaging figure in Giants history? Something in between?
letting BB get away- dreadful
He wasn't without his faults - he didn't adjust well to the cap at all. But I'm not entirely sold on his not wanting Belichick - especially with rumors that BB was shacking up with a secretary inside of Giants HQ. Knowing how conservative ole Welly was, it's just as likely they told him to let him walk.
Imperfect, but brought us two titles. Drafted the greatest Giant of all time. Deserves to be in the HoF.
I thought the Belichick was Wellington not wanting him....the whole secretary thing.
Dave Brown selection was really his biggest miss. I think Reeves proved in 93 the team still had some juice. So in essence the team was highly competitive for 15 years of his tenure....pretty outstanding imv.
A look back at cellphones - ( New Window )
Never grasped FA.
I will always remember him fondly, although ultimately there may have been too many egos in the room with him, Parcells, and Belichick, not to mention Coughlin, Weis and other secondary actors.
oops, 5 time NFL Executive of the Year
I agree with those who say there is no way he ever would have agreed to hire Parcells in 1997. That ship had sailed.
-buford
-buford
Wow, did they actually say that?
Also - what if he became the Giants coach and had the same record he had in Cleveland? THEY SUCKED! Little Bill would've been gone in 2 years.
Ehhh...pot, kettle? lol
Billy B may have been ready to be a HC but not to transition from DC to HC of the same team. His personality was not like Parcells and he would have had difficulty with that veteran team.
George did not embrace free agency in its early stages. He never really figured it out.
Handley was a bad pick. Lots of factors influenced that pick.
Reeves was not a bad hire, but no one would win that power struggle.
That sweet sweet man
Yes, he tailed off badly after 1990 but we were nowhere when he arrived in 1979 and by 1990 there were 2 Lombardis in the trophy case.
I've been told by people way smarter than me if you're the smartest guy in the room you're in the wrong room. Hasn't been much of a problem for me. It must have been tough for GY to find a room with people who were smarter than him.
I'm not objective when it comes to him or Parcells or most of the 86 team. Those guys are sports heros to me and golden forever.
The biggest mistake GY made was not drafting Reggie White from the USFL. Trust me I know the whole story. Gary Zimmerman a was a HOFer too doesn't matter. If he takes Reggie White and the there was a big push from the coaches to take Reggie White the Giants 80's teams would have been more dynastic than the Steelers in the 70's.
The Belicihick snub like his relationship with Parcells was personal not business. GY was extremely principled and conservative. Not the case in different ways with either Bill in their Giant days. Young knew Belichick was a football savant. He didn't think Belichick could handle being the face of the Giants. But the guy he choose over Belichick? Most of you know the on field and off field story. Huge misjudgement of character by GY.
The 1997 cell phone thing is typical Mara white washed revisionist history. Young would have quit if Wellington brought Parcells back. It wasn't about a cell phone or lack of a cell phone. It is true Young didn't carry a cell phone in 1997. Seems to be a long pattern of Giants GMs not embracing new thinking or technology to this day.
His post Parcells career kept him out the HOF. He lost a lot of respect around the league. In the 90's the changes to the business model and the game had passed him by.
He hated free agency, so he refused to adapt to it. That (along with some weak drafts) was why the Giants struggled in the mid-90s.
Neither he nor Parcells could get over the acrimony between them from the '80s, when Parcells was angry about Young trying to replace him with Schnellenberger and Young was angry about Parcells flirting with Atlanta and Tampa Bay before retiring abruptly in the spring of '91. That's why Young prevented them from re-hiring Parcells in 1997.
IMO Parcells screwed the organization leaving when he did not Young. So not wanting him back is fair. Also my understanding regarding Bill B he felt he did not have the personality to deal with the NY media and would not represent the team well image wise. That may not be the case today but back then he was a DC without the winning resume he has now.
I also feel that he did not adjust well to the changes thoughout the league dealing with FA and the cap.
George Young is a football LEGEND and I salute him!!!
to resurrect the franchise from what it was in the 70's to what it became in the 80's is masterful.
The interesting thing is that his '90s drafts had a penchant for finding quality players in the later rounds while whiffing completely in the first round.
1991 - Jarrod Bunch in the first (though I still classify Bunch more as an injury casualty than a bust), but Ed McCaffrey in the fourth(damn you Reeves!) and Corey Miller in the sixth
1992 - Derek Brown in the first, but Sparks in the second, Hamilton in the fourth, Widmer in the seventh
1993 - Dave Brown was effectively their first round pick, but Strahan in the second and Armstead in the eighth
1994 - Thomas Lewis in the first, but Sehorn in the second and Bratzke in the fifth
1995 - Wheatley in the first, but Gragg in the second (yeah, sucked for us but was good for SF for years) and Way in the sixth
1996 - Cedric Jones in the first, but Toomer in the second and Roman Oben in the third, plus Conrad Hamilton in the seventh was looking good before injuries wrecked his career.
1997 - finally a decent first rounder in Hilliard, plus Tiki in the second, Brad Maynard (another who wasn't great for us but succeeded elsewhere) in the third and Sam Garnes in the fifth.
And then, as mentioned, he built the Giants into there best squad ever from '85 to '91. In the aggregate, he absolutely aced his drafts.
So stopping right there should give Young a place in Canton.
But it's a tale of two cities here because once the cap system got implemented, Young acted like he was trying to read and understand Chinese. He just couldn't adjust, lost his fastball in the draft, and team struggled with consistency.
George Young is a football LEGEND and I salute him!!!
One other thing that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned. Despite being a high-powered executive, he was an extraordinarily warm man who always responded to letters (handwritten responses at that) and seemed to really appreciate the interest from fans.
Was also part of those very good Colt teams in the 70s and was also part of the undefeated Miami team I believe (not GM but in the front office).
Just try to find an interview with GY. Francessa and Dog would have him on.....they are absolutely great listens.
People talk about how he didn't adapt to free agency well, but he left the team in pretty darn good shape after the 1997 season, his last.
GY was also a history major and used it to his advantage when acessing situations.
Best line: "You could know nothing about football and watch Lawrence Taylor for 10 minutes and realize he's the best player on the field".
I wouldn't go quite so far as saying he left them in great shape after 1997, but he had assembled a roster with a handful of excellent players that were great building blocks - Strahan, Armstead, Tiki, Toomer, Hamilton, Sehorn.
I wouldn't go quite so far as saying he left them in great shape after 1997, but he had assembled a roster with a handful of excellent players that were great building blocks - Strahan, Armstead, Tiki, Toomer, Hamilton, Sehorn.
It certainly was not as bad as some seem to think. Also Ron Stone in FA and Fassel was a pretty good coach imo.
She said she was happy he was dead. And one of us said wait you literally mean that? And she said yes. It was one of the strangest things I have ever seen here...
Best line: "You could know nothing about football and watch Lawrence Taylor for 10 minutes and realize he's the best player on the field".
He loved his "elephants" too. When the OL would walk onto the practice field Young would said say, "Here comes the elephants..."