Canadian Kevin Abrams has been given the interim general manager tag after the New York Giants fired their GM and head coach Monday.
Abrams, a native Toronto native and Western University graduate (philosophy) who tried to walk-on with the Mustangs but got cut in his first year at university, is in his 16th season as the Giants’ assistant general manager. He was a part of the front office staff that won two Super Bowls (2008 and 2012) under Jerry Reese, who had been the general manager for New York since 2007. He was let go along with bench boss Ben McAdoo after the team fell to 2-10 Sunday.
The 43-year-old is the lead contract negotiator for the Giants and worked with both college and pro scouting departments evaluating players for the NFL Draft and free agency. He has plenty of experience managing the salary cap and delved further into football analytics with New York.
“We use a lot of analytics when it comes to game theory and management. That’s an ongoing, evolving data set. As you find a population of data for scenarios or circumstances—whether it be down and distance, venue, opponent, scheme—you’re starting to see more trends. You can sort of put more faith and reliability in that data the larger the population of data becomes,” Abrams explained.
“Where it’s easy to gain traction within our building and get buy-in from everyone involved is if you can create greater efficiencies in your processes to augment your training program—to make more players available throughout the season.”
Abrams has been considered for general manager positions and interviewed with the Detroit Lions for the role in 2016. Long-time NFL-personnel-man-turned-consultant Ernie Accorsi has a strong relationship with Abrams as the two worked together with the Giants for a number of years. Accorsi will consult for New York’s GM search.
Giants president and CEO John Mara said Abrams is a candidate for the full-time job.
