PHOENIX — The Giants never gave Jerry Reese a public ultimatum — “Fix this or you’re out!” — but when the team parted ways with Tom Coughlin and co-owner John Mara said that it would be up to Reese to get the Giants back on track following four seasons without making the playoffs, it was pretty clear what the repercussions might have been had the team tanked again in 2016.
They did not. Reese brought in three key defensive free agents in Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and Damon Harrison, spending $200 million on the overhaul. And it likely saved Reese’s job.