Giants: Accorsi is in a picky situation

04/09/00

By Paul Needell
STAFF WRITER

To put it in draft parlance, Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi is on the clock.

After two largely unproductive drafts and a record of 15-17 since taking over a 10-5-1 division winner from predecessor George Young in 1998, Accorsi's ability to acquire the talent necessary to build a playoff team in one of the NFL's weakest divisions can certainly be questioned.

Think coach Jim Fassel is the only member of the hierarchy on the hot seat as the Giants prepare for the 2000 season? Think again.

Even Accorsi understands his future with the Giants could be dictated largely by the selections he makes at the NFL draft Saturday and Sunday.

"I know I'm on the spot as much as Jim's on the spot," said Accorsi, who will be picking for the Giants for the third time. "I don't ever shy away from that. I know the ground rules. Every draft is crucial. I think the draft is still the most important thing, but I don't want to be measured by anything other than the won-loss record. To me, I'm going to be judged by the won-loss record, and I'm going to have to live with that."

Despite wanting a longer commitment, Fassel received just a one-year contract extension through 2001 after last season. Giants executives will say only that Accorsi "has more than a year" left on his contract, and don't appear to be getting antsy.

"I like what Ernie's been doing, the energy he shows in the off-season and the aggressive way that he's been dealing with salary-cap issues," said John Mara, the team's executive vice president. "He personally attended a number of workouts of draft-eligible players in the off-season so he can size them up himself. I like his approach."

Approach is nice, but it's results that count, and how this draft turns out could make or break both Accorsi and Fassel. Especially that first pick.

On Saturday, "unless all hell breaks loose" with the teams picking in front of them, Accorsi seems confident the Giants will be able to fill their most glaring need, a running back who can make big plays. Accorsi thinks a top back, such as Wisconsin's Ron Dayne or Alabama's Shaun Alexander, will be available in the 11th spot, the Giants' first pick.

He just has to make sure the player he takes will help turn Fassel into a winning coach again in 2000. Or, at the very least, the running back chosen is better than the running back passed over, because the comparisons will be there ... every week.

If it turns out right, Fassel and Accorsi may live happily ever after. If it all turns out wrong, then the head coach won't be alone on the griddle. The hot seat will be built for two.

"If we go 2-14," Accorsi said, "Jim won't be the only one in trouble."

During his GM stint with the Browns in the late '80s, Accorsi was known to prefer drafting skill-position, high-impact players in the first round.

To some extent, he acquiesced to the grading system the Giants had long used under Young, in which the highest-rated player -- regardless of position or impact potential -- would be drafted in the first round. It was unlike Accorsi to use his No. 1 picks on a safety and an offensive lineman the past two years.

"That's basically against my philosophy, but it just fell that way," Accorsi said.

While it's easy to say it's "too early to tell" how Accorsi's first two drafts have panned out, they certainly didn't pay immediate dividends.

Free safety Shaun Williams, Accorsi's first No. 1 pick for the Giants in 1998, has not started a game in the NFL. After two years playing primarily in nickel situations, he is expected to start in 2000 now that Percy Ellsworth has signed with the Browns.

Only two other '98 picks are still on the roster. Second-round wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, with 27 catches and two starts, has been a huge disappointment in his two seasons. And third-round wideout Brian Alford has been a nonentity, playing in only four games.

All nine players drafted last year remain with the team, but No. 1 pick Luke Petitgout was benched after starting eight games out of position at left guard. Second-round running back Joe Montgomery, coming off an injury-plagued college career, had an injury-plagued rookie season. Other than Petitgout at right tackle, none of the picks last year is a projected starter.

"I don't judge them yet," Accorsi said. "There have been a lot of circumstances. I think they all still have a chance to help us."

If they do, they could help Fassel get the longer contract he wants. Ironically, people around the league wonder if that's what Accorsi wants.

There is a large perception, shared by several NFL executives and media outlets alike, that Accorsi wants his own coach in the job, that he is waiting for Fassel to fail so he can bring in his good friend, former Browns and Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer, as the next coach of the Giants. Accorsi and Schottenheimer worked together in Cleveland from 1985-88.

Although Young was the man who hired Fassel in 1997, Accorsi professes to be every bit as committed to Fassel as Young was. Accorsi makes no apologies for his friendship with Schottenheimer, and denies Fassel needs to be concerned about that relationship.

"If I walked into this job and after one year tried to get Jim out of here, fine, but after the third year I'm going to be judged by our record, too," Accorsi said. "It's a little late in the game to try to get a coach out of here. Plus, Jim and I genuinely like each other. I was as strong as anybody about retaining him, not that anyone needed convincing.

"Hey, Marty is a very dear friend of mine, and I know all that talk bothered Jim. I've told him it's not the case, and every time I talk to Marty now I make sure to let Jim know I did. I feel very much that we're in this together."

If Fassel is looking over his shoulder at Schottenheimer or anyone else, he does a good job of disguising it.

"All that stuff (about Schottenheimer) isn't part of my relationship with Ernie," Fassel said. "We get along very well. We don't always see exactly eye-to-eye on little things here or there, but in the big picture of where we have to go with this team and how we're going to get there, we're on the same page.

"When I took this job, I knew everybody here except Ernie. The first question I asked George was, 'How long are you going to be there?' Because, generally speaking, that's not the way you want to go into a job, with the guy that hired you about to leave. But it's worked out great because I really have a respect for Ernie and the way he does his job and how we work together."

Fassel and Accorsi say they are in sync when it comes to plans for this draft. More attention will be paid to speed, athleticism and need.

"I think Ernie genuinely likes Jim and wants him to succeed," Mara said. "Plus, I don't think Ernie has his own 'guy' out there to bring in. I've heard about Schottenheimer, but he has never pushed that to any degree and I don't believe it's true. I don't sense any friction between them at all."

That all sounds good. But unless Accorsi supplies Fassel with better players, the sounds they hear at Giants Stadium this season will begin and end with "boo."

"Hey, if we win, well, this is the greatest city in the world," Accorsi said. "Like that commercial with Joe Torre says, 'It's the best place to win.' But there are winners all over this city, and it's not a very good place to lose.

"They close Broadway shows here. They don't do that in Cleveland. I know if we don't win I'm going to get my share of the blame. But I'm perfectly comfortable with that. Whether we succeed and I get credit or we don't and I get blame, it pales compared to the standard I try to set for myself. I just want to win."