Giants President & CEO John Mara says the 2014 season wasn’t good enough, but he doesn’t plan any major changes for 2015.
Mara confirmed that head coach Tom Coughlin and General Manager Jerry Reese will both be back with the team next year, and Mara expects to be a lot better in 2015.
“It’s been a very difficult year for our fans. It’s been an even more difficult year for me, because I don’t stomach this very well,” Mara said. “But I do think there is reason for optimism and I think we’ll be a much better team next season.”
Mara said he’s loyal to Coughlin because Coughlin has won two Super Bowls for the Giants, but Mara added that the most important thing is he believes Coughlin still has plenty of good coaching left in him.
“I still believe we can win with him,” Mara said. “If I didn’t believe that then it wouldn’t have mattered how many Super Bowls he won in the past, it would be senseless to go forward with him. But I’m looking at how hard the players play for him and how attentive they are, and I look at his energy level and how much he still wants to win and how driven he is.”
Mara said he was disappointed in the play of the defense this season, but he added that any changes to the coaching staff “will be Tom’s decision.”
Ultimately, Mara said, he thinks the right leadership is in place.
“I still believe very strongly in Jerry Reese,” Mara said. “We still believe in this coach, this staff and our organization.”
Now Reese and Coughlin need to re-pay Mara’s confidence by winning more games next year.
