GLENDALE, Ariz. _ John Mara didn't want to hear any talk of tanking when he fired Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo but his Giants have lost capably and consistently anyway _ three straight under interim coach Steve Spagnuolo now with one to go on New Year's Eve to end this forgettable year with one last dud.
And yet that is not entirely a bad development since Sunday's Christmas Eve 23-0 loss to the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, while unacceptably embarrassing, helped the Giants in their unintentional quest to present their fans with at least one Christmas gift: the No. 2 pick in April's draft.
Cleveland (0-15) locked up the No. 1 pick by losing Sunday to the Chicago Bears. The Giants (2-13), who became the first team in franchise history to lose 13 games in a season, haven't quite sealed the No. 2 pick because the Indianapolis Colts (3-12) are nearly as dreadful.
A Giants loss to Washington in Week 17 at MetLife Stadium, or a Colts win over the Texans, would lock in the Giants at pick No. 2 right behind the winless Browns. The team with the weaker strength of schedule would get the higher pick in a tiebreaker if the Giants and Colts both finish with three wins. One week of NFL results remain.
Losing to Washington, though, won't be difficult if the Giants play the way they did against Arizona (7-8) on Christmas Eve, in the Giants' first shutout loss since a 27-0 defeat in Philadelphia to the Eagles on Oct. 12, 2014.
Eli Manning committed three turnovers behind a woeful offensive line. Wayne Gallman led the Giants in rushing with 18 yards. The defense gave the Cardinals offense a Larry Christmas, allowing star receiver Larry Fitzgerald to pick apart the secondary, including a second-quarter TD catch from Drew Stanton that snapped a drought of 11 straight quarters without a Cardinals touchdown. And kicker Aldrick Rosas missed a 33-yard chip shot field goal for good measure.
There was also interesting news on Sunday about what the Giants actually can do with their No. 2 draft pick in April if they do secure it: ESPN reported that UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen would prefer to play for the Giants over the Browns and would be hesitant to declare for the 2018 NFL draft if Cleveland planned to take him at No. 1. The report cited "league sources familiar with the situation."
Rosen and USC sophomore QB Sam Darnold are considered the top two prospects in the upcoming draft if they declare. Darnold has waffled on whether to declare for the draft, but prior to Sunday Rosen's declaration for the draft had been considered a formality.
Rosen (6-4, 218) is viewed as more of a plug-and-play, pure passer, but Darnold (6-4, 220), while more raw, may have the higher ceiling. If Darnold stays in school, that complicates the Giants' decision at No. 2, but now Rosen's running from the Browns adds another layer of drama.
Rosen, a junior, is following a similar approach to Eli Manning's 2004 NFL draft demands coming out of Ole Miss when the San Diego Chargers held the No. 1 overall pick and the Giants sat at No. 4.
Manning told the Chargers he didn't want to play for them and would sit out the season if they picked him. Chargers GM A.J. Smith drafted Manning anyway but within an hour had traded him to the Giants for Philip Rivers (whom the Giants had picked at No. 4), the Giants' third-round pick, and the Giants' first- and fifth-round picks in 2005.
Rosen's threat also could be empty because UCLA this season fired coach Jim Mora and hired Chip Kelly, and Rosen presumably would rather be a top-two NFL draft pick than play another college season in Kelly's gimmicky offense. Cleveland also has an experienced new GM, John Dorsey, who likely would not be deterred by drafting Rosen at No. 1 just because the UCLA QB is saying he doesn't want to play for the Browns.
Rosen and NFL prospects must declare for the NFL draft by Jan. 15. NFL teams receive a list of players accepted into the NFL draft by Jan. 19. So Rosen is going to have to decide whether to declare in about three weeks anyway, regardless if he has assurance from any teams.
The identity of the GM who will be making the No. 2 draft pick for the Giants in April, of course, is not yet known.
After the first round of interviews, all indications are that former Giants pro personnel director and Carolina Panthers GM Dave Gettleman is the leading candidate to be hired as Jerry Reese's successor. But the Giants will not hire a GM prior to the New Year so they can interview candidates currently employed by other teams.
Potential candidates still to be interviewed include Green Bay Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf, Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, and Baltimore Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta.
So far the Giants have interviewed four candidates already, including three with ties to the organization: current Giants VP of player evaluation Marc Ross on Monday; Gettleman on Wednesday; and current Giants interim GM Kevin Abrams on Friday. They interviewed ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former pro personnel director in Washington and Philadelphia, on Thursday.
The Giants do not intend to hire a coach until after they hire a GM. But they could begin coaching interviews as soon as the first week of January, because if the New England Patriots have a first-round bye, for example, the Giants by rule would be allowed to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels during that week.
The new GM obviously will have a recommendation on who he prefers as head coach, but there are several potentially intriguing candidates on the coaching front, too.
Both Patriots coordinators, McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, are possibilities. And other options include Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich.
The GM and coach searches certainly bear watching more closely than the Giants' play on the field these days, which is so brutal that fans at least can be thankful the game is over and so it can't ruin their Christmas Days.
