The New York Giants have zeroed in on three general manager finalists to replace Dave Gettleman. One of those three is San Francisco 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters, who will interview for the opening for a second time on Thursday, per NFL Network.
The #Giants are scheduled to conduct a second interview with #49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters for their GM job Thursday, per source.
Peters is the third known finalist in New York, joining Buffalo’s Joe Schoen and Kansas City’s Ryan Poles.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 19, 2022
Get to know Giants general manager candidate Adam Peters
Peters, 42, interviewed for the Panthers opening in 2021 — a job that ultimately went to Scott Fitterer. He has obvious connections to 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and former Dolphins coach Brian Flores, so we would expect both to get interviews if Peters gets the job.
Peters’ football background
Peters has worked for and learned with some of the biggest names in recent football history. That list includes John Elway, who is a Hall of Famer, and Bill Belichick, who will be one someday.
But long before he became one of the NFL’s best college scouts, Peters was an aspiring defensive end who spent two years at UCLA as a player before transitioning into the Bruins’ football operations department. Belichick took a chance on Peters when he was still in his early 20s, first as a scouting assistant, and then later as an area scout.
Peters left New England for Elway and the Rocky Mountains in 2009, serving first as a Broncos regional scout, then as a national scout before getting promoted to Denver’s director of college scouting. When the Broncos won the Super Bowl in 2015, there were more than two-dozen players on that roster that were homegrown, and Peters deserves much of the credit for identifying and then convincing Elway to draft them.
In 2017, Peters left Denver for another promotion, agreeing to become general manager John Lynch’s vice president of player personnel in San Francisco. After Peters drew GM interest in the 2021 hiring cycle, Lynch bumped Peters up and into his current role.
How Peters performed in 2021
The open secret in NFL circles is that Peters, not Lynch, is largely responsible for the 49ers’ draft success over the last five years. San Francisco wouldn’t be in the NFL Divisional Round without homegrown stars such as Nick Bosa, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel. The Niners have had particular success in the mid-to-late rounds, taking tight end George Kittle on Day 3 in 2017, linebacker Fred Warner in Round 3 in 2018, and running back Elijah Mitchell with pick No. 194 in 2021.
As for the rest of the 49ers’ 2021 draft class, the jury is still out. The Niners traded up to take Trey Lance third overall, and he was always going to be a developmental player as a rookie.
What the 49ers are saying about Peters
“Adam has earned this promotion, which is a result of his hard work and dedication to the 49er Way. He has been a tremendous asset to our team and we look forward to Adam continuing to play an integral role in all aspects of football operations in our quest to compete for championships.” — Lynch, when Peters was promoted to assistant GM in February 2021
“We’ve got a good staff here. And what A.P. has done for us in our five years here and how much he’s helped us build this. What [director of player personnel] Ran Carthon has done. We’ve got a lot of guys here who I feel very fortunate to have.” — 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan