GM Reese has put any doubts to bed
CHANDLER, Ariz. - People are prone to embellishment, so whether it is his humble roots or not, Jerry Reese felt obligated to set the record straight.
That story about him being so poor as a child he didn't have a bed? Not true.
"Actually, I did have a bed. It was one of those rollaway cots," said Reese, one of seven children who shared a two-bedroom house with their mother, Ozella. "I folded it up and took it to the living room at night, and in the morning I would put it behind the door of my mother's room."
All this talk about the New York Giants being a great team, now that they've made it to Super Bowl XLII? Reese shakes his head.
"I wouldn't say that we're an elite team. I think we're a very good team that wants to get to elite status," he said. "We still have work to do."
Straight talk from a guy who has gone straight to the top in his first year on the job, but the Giants' rookie general manager is almost embarrassed by the plaudits flowing his way. There is the story line, for instance, about the team's eight draft picks last spring and how they will all play tonight against the Patriots. A pretty spectacular 1.000 batting average, it was suggested, but Reese said a disclaimer was necessary.
"That's a little bit misleading," he said. "We did draft some nice players, but we had some holes to fill, so who else was going to play? I think they're talented, but the coaches have done a tremendous job."
For the record, the eight draft picks are cornerback Aaron Ross, wide receiver Steve Smith, defensive tackle Jay Alford, linebacker/long snapper Zak DeOssie, tight end Kevin Boss, offensive tackle Adam Koets, safety Michael Johnson, and running back Ahmad Bradshaw.
What can't be quantified is whether Reese's overseeing of the draft deserves the bulk of the credit, or whether - as the GM insists - coach Tom Coughlin and his staff should get the gold stars. But Reese, the first African-American general manager of a Super Bowl team, does know this: "It's a fairy tale for a first year. You've got guys who work in this business for 20 years and never even make it into the playoffs. It could be beginner's luck, or call it what you will, but we're lucky to be here."
"Here" is the biggest stage in American sports, but that is not a place a child can see from Tiptonville, Tenn.
"As a young kid growing up in a farm-rural community, I really didn't have [big] goals," said Reese. "To be the general manager of the New York Giants was light years [away]. I didn't even know what a general manager was at that time. All of a sudden, I'm playing football and these strange men are coming to offer scholarships. I'm not sure what the scholarship thing was."
Reese shook his head and sighed.
"[But] football has been very good to me."
His prowess brought him to the University of Tennessee at Martin (1981-84), where as a defensive back he was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference pick. He stole passes, he made tackles, and he cherished everything about college life. It would open doors, yes; but so, too, did it open his eyes to a new world, as well as the one he had lived in.
"I come from very humble beginnings," said Reese. "But growing up, I think everybody was kind of poor in the town I was from, so you didn't know you were poor. Everybody was happy, everybody was having a normal life. I didn't realize how poor I was until I went to college."
His decision to stay at UT-Martin and pursue a master's degree in education administration and supervision would prove beneficial to his career, but it didn't come without more sacrifice. Instead of a rollaway cot, this time he slept on a friend's couch. Not very comfortable, perhaps, but Reese shrugged. He had learned at a young age to get by with less.
"It built some character for me, I think, growing up in a tough situation like I did," he said.
As he pursued his master's, Reese served as a graduate assistant on the UT-Martin coaching staff and was befriended by assistant coach Jeremiah Davis. When Davis left in 1988 to take a job as a part-time scout with the Giants, Reese was promoted to secondary coach. When that eventually led to another title, assistant head coach, Reese figured life couldn't get any better. That's why the phone call in 1994 was a curveball - at Davis's urging, the Giants were offering Reese a job in their scouting department.
"At the time I was like, you know what, I had moved up to assistant head coach and I was feeling pretty good about being head coach at Tennessee-Martin and I was like, 'You know, I'm in a pretty good spot.' [Davis] said, 'Just think about it.'
"My wife and I thought about it," said Reese. "We prayed about it."
Some 13 laters later, it's apparent their prayers were answered, because Reese took the job, and things have moved consistently forward for he and wife Gwen ever since. He said he feels fortunate to have been hired by George Young, who served as Giants general manager from 1979-1997, and to have worked closely with Ernie Accorsi. In Young and Accorsi, Reese had close ties to two of the game's most heralded general managers, and he studied them diligently.
"I try to take a little from everyone I meet," said Reese. "You can always learn something new. But just watching George and just watching Ernie. There was a lot to learn there."
Reese, in fact, recalled the close of the 2006 season, a disappointing wild-card loss at Philadelphia when the injury-ravaged Giants hung tough but fell just short. "We should have won the game, in my opinion, but we lost on a field goal. I'm sitting in the press box thinking, 'You know what? We're not that far away.' When Ernie left, the cupboard wasn't bare; he left some good players."
One was defensive end Osi Umenyiora, whom Reese had pushed the Giants to draft in 2003, but he won't promote himself for that. Nor can he dismiss the opportunity to correct a reporter's suggestion that he had something to do with the hiring of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
"That was Tom [Coughlin]. I had nothing to do with it," said Reese.
It is that selfless demeanor that shines through with the 44-year-old Reese, but there are others who'll gladly sing the man's praises. Such as Coughlin.
"Jerry's very passionate about this team. He's a very, very positive guy and he displays that positiveness to the players," said the head coach. "He is a guy who is very open and very honest, very frank. The players have accepted that very much."
Sitting outside a jam-packed ballroom at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass during yet another interview session with an endless stream of reporters, Reese marveled at how the last year has unfolded, starting with the promotion that was announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Yes, he considers that a fitting date.
"I said it back then," said Reese. "It is my time to carry the torch. This is my time just to try to be successful and show people that African-Americans can do the job."
The thought lingered, then pens scribbled. Next, a reporter wanted to know if things had improved in the bed department. The general manager laughed and said things were just fine there.
"This week? I have a bed here," he said, laughing.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com. 