Only weeks after an improbable Super Bowl run, New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese acknowledged Sunday that some tough personnel decisions loom but that he's ready to make them.
"You always have to make some hard decisions," he told the New York Daily News at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "If you can't make a hard decision in this business, you shouldn't be in this business.
"There's always change," he added ominously, "and there will be change this time."
Reese, who last offseason let wideout Steve Smith leave as a free agent and waived offensive linemen Shaun O'Hara and Rich Seubert, faces big decisions this offseason with regard to defensive end Osi Umenyiora, running back Brandon Jacobs and Super Bowl XLVI hero Mario Manningham. Manningham has said he might be on his way out of New York.
"There are always some hard decisions to make," Reese told the Daily News, "especially when there are some Giants who have been on this team for a long time, and we have to go in a different direction.
"It's never personal. It's always business."
Jacobs might restructure his deal to stay with the Giants. Jacobs is scheduled to receive a $500,000 roster bonus next month and a $4.4 million salary next season.
Reese told the newspaper that an Umenyiora extension "could happen" but made no guarantees, and said Saturday he wasn't sure if the defensive end would be willing to accept a hometown discount.
Meanwhile, Reese has 21 unrestricted free agents in all, including Victor Cruz, who made only $490,000 while finishing with a team-record 1,536 receiving yards.
