New York faces new beginning without Accorsi

	Ernie Accorsi's 36-year NFL career ended after the Giants' loss on Sunday. Evan Pinkus/Wireimage
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PHILADELPHIA -- Ernie Accorsi's chin rested heavily on his hands in the press box during the waning moments of the Giants' 23-20 heartbreak loss to the Eagles. The outcome ended not just Tiki Barber's illustrious career, but also the longest tenure  of all the NFL general managers. Accorsi -- in a dark trench coat that captured the club's mood -- headed one last time for the locker room to whisper final good-byes to several players.

"Ernie's likes to stay in the background, but he's been a great general manager," linebacker Antonio Pierce told me outside the locker room. "He really knows football. He walked around the locker room and told everybody: 'Good luck with the rest of our careers,' because he's moving on."

He leaves the team in good financial shape -- the Giants have plenty of salary-cap flexibility. And every other key player except center Shaun O'Hara has been signed through at least next season. But some critical issues must be addressed, starting with coach Tom Coughlin, whose team lost seven of its final nine games after getting off to a 6-2 start. Coughlin -- 25-23 in his Giants tenure -- has one year left (at $3 million) on his four-year deal.

He's the sole NFC East coach to make the past two playoffs, and the first Giants coach to make the postseason in consecutive years since Bill Parcells in 1989 and 1990. But ownership certainly had a right to expect more than a .500 record this season and zero playoff victories over the past two seasons.

Yet another concern is finding a replacement for Barber, who punctuated a possible Hall-of-Fame career with a trademark performance: 26 carries for 137 yards against the Eagles. Thanks to Accorsi, the Giants already have someone I expect to become one of the NFL's better backs -- Brandon Jacobs. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder -- plucked in the fourth round in 2005 -- is a punishing runner with the shiftiness of much smaller players. In a part-time role this season, Jacobs collected nine touchdowns and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. The Giants must find out if he's  an every-down back. Even if he is, the club would probably still prefer to use the twin-tailback rotation that's en vogue.

There's no imminent decision on quarterback Eli Manning, but he appeared to regress after showing promise his first two seasons. Accorsi acquired Manning in the 2004 draft-day trade with San Diego for Philip Rivers plus three picks. So far the trade heavily favors San Diego, with three Chargers players from the deal becoming Pro Bowl players. But Accorsi believes it's premature to make a judgment: "Eli has quarterbacked this team both years into the playoffs. I don't need to apologize for that. He'll be a championship quarterback."