National Football League

John Mara rips NY Giants in wake of 8-8 season

Published Jan. 4, 2010 11:15 p.m. ET

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The late Wellington Mara wasn't the type of owner who walked into the New York Giants looking to hold a news conference after every game.

Mara liked being around his players and rarely said anything to the media, other than hello. He only spoke when something about his team needed to be said, like in 2003 when the team gave up on then-coach Jim Fassel at the end of the season.

An angry Mara told his players that some of them would not be back next season and they weren't.

Giants president and chief executive John Mara is very much like his father.

After watching the Giants get embarrassed by a combined score of 85-16 in the final two games of the regular season, the young executive walked into the media room on Monday and unloaded on his team in the wake of an 8-8 season that included losses in 8 of the final 11 games.

Mara wasn't happy with the coaches, the players' effort during the second half of the season, their leadership - or lack of it - or the front office's moves.

His blond hair only made the redness in his face stand out more.

``I am disappointed in everybody, in everything,'' Mara said less than 24 hours after a season-ending 44-7 loss in Minnesota. ``I am unhappy with everyone. It's just not acceptable to perform like that. There are 8-8 seasons and there are 8-8 seasons, but this one felt like more like 2-14 to me.''

In his nearly two decades as part of the Giants hierarchy, Mara said he has never felt like this after a season, especially after the team started 5-0.

``Probably as disappointed as I have been in my life at this team, given the expectations that we had this year, given the roster that we thought we had, given the way we started out and given the embarrassment of the last two weeks.''

Mara said the entire organization would be evaluated from top to bottom, although he said that coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese would not be fired. The two led the Giants to a Super Bowl title in February 2008.

Mara said he intends to sit down with both Coughlin and Reese to go over things. Mara did not single out players or coaches, but it's certain he was not happy with the defense, which gave 427 points this season, including five games where the opponent scored at least 40 points.

The last time that happened to the Giants was in 1966. Only the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams gave up more points.

Coughlin fired first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan on Monday afternoon. Sheridan was promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator after last season when Steve Spagnuolo left to become the Rams' coach. Spagnuolo was the architect of the defense that led the Giants to a Super Bowl win over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in February 2008.

Reese spent nearly $60 million in the offseason signing defensive linemen Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard and linebacker Michael Boley. None had a great impact, with Canty bothered by injuries all season.

``Obviously our roster isn't as good as we thought it was and so we need to take a look at that and discuss everything at this point,'' Mara said. ``I don't think we'll take anything for granted, the way this season ended.''

The one thing that annoyed Mara was the lack of pride the players showed in the last two games, particularly the 41-9 loss to Carolina in the final home game at Giants Stadium.

``That is not the way we want to go out in that building,'' Mara said. ``I probably felt that loss more deeply than any other, particularly the way we were so noncompetitive.''

Not only did the game disappoint the fans who had been coming to the stadium for 34 years, but the Giants were routed in a game that could have kept their playoff hopes alive.

``We always used to pride ourselves on being a tough team, both physically and mentally, and I didn't see any evidence of that the second half of the season,'' Mara said.

Earlier, Coughlin said the Giants lost their identity this season and stopped being a team that ran the ball and stopped the run.

Mara downplayed the team's injuries. Reese had said the Giants had a significant amount of injuries (middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, cornerbacks Corey Webster and Aaron Ross and safety Kenny Phillips) this season and it hurt them.

``I know we had some injuries, but I don't think they were catastrophic type of injuries,'' Mara said. ``There is no excuse for performing the way we performed over basically the last 11 weeks.''

Mara noted that there were at least six games this season where the Giants were not competitive.

``The last two games were the worst, but when you have that many games where you get blown out there is something wrong and it means something has to be done,'' he said.

Mara said the Giants will be in the free agent market.

``We are going to do what we need to do with the team,'' he said.

Mara declined to set a timetable for changes, adding he would like to cool off before making any decisions. He also said the amount of change needed is not as great as in 1993 when he referred to the Giants as a ``franchise in trouble.''

``I think we have a pretty good nucleus of players and are a pretty solid organization - notwithstanding our performance over the second half of the season,'' he said. ``So I don't think I'd be quite that dramatic.''

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