Giants legend Victor Cruz talks about the state of the team after retaining a coach and general manager despite a poor season

Less than three weeks ago, New York Giants had control of the NFL draft board and temporarily held the No. 1 pick. Then they scored 45 points, the most in more than 10 years, and won.

The Giants are now in line for the pick third in the draftand many experts say at most two running backs are worth an early pick.

The two teams ahead of the Giants — the Titans and Browns — are likely in the quarterback market.

It was the Giants’ worst season in a generation. Their .176 winning percentage with a 3-14 record was the fourth lowest in franchise history. And yet, owner John Mara made the unpopular decision to retain both head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.

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Firing Daboll, however, would mean the Giants would have, not including interims, their fifth head coach in 10 seasons. It’s not an ideal process, especially since Tom Coughlin worked at the 12-man station.

And while Giants fans may not like the decision, Victor Cruz understands that.

“I think at some point you’ve got to have continuity, right? You can’t just fire every coach. You’ve got to give some guys a little time to figure out if they’re the right fit,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

Cruz said the players, especially the veterans, “love” Daboll, which led to Mara’s decision. But they must compete next year if Daboll and Schoen are to survive.

“I’m not saying we have to win 13 games, 12 games, but next year we have to at least be competitive so the fans have a better taste in their mouths,” Cruz said. He even admitted that the tandem could survive if the Giants “shit” again.

“I think it depends on what level we’re bad at, right? How bad are we? Are we 3-14 again or are we 9-8? 8-9? Are we in that middle level to maybe go a couple of pieces further?” he said.

“Now, if we’re a three-win team next year, you’ve got to blow it up, because obviously it’s not going to work. But if we’re mid-level — 9-8, 8-9, in the playoffs — maybe a wild card — a wild card spot and we’re there, then I have a different taste, ‘OK, I’ll give them what we need to get over that last hump.'”

The G-Men probably won’t sniff the Super Bowl for a while, so maybe the players will throw parties for the big game this year. Cruz did, and has partnered with Finish Ultimate dishwasher detergent ahead of a trip to New Orleans next month. The brand is giving away a $10,000 prize so fans can throw the Super Bowl party of their dreams.

“By the time I’m retired and I’m refrigerating and putting things for the crib, it just helps get the tough stains out. It helps when I’m preparing food, there’s different food, and we have these tough stains on those dishes,” Cruz said.

“Finish Ultimate is the way to go for stubborn stains and I wouldn’t use any other brand than Finish Ultimate.”

The Giants’ focus is on the draft, so even if the Titans and Browns let Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders fall away from the Giants, Cruz would say thanks but no thanks and target a household name.

“I think we should take one of those veterans in free agency, build our roster for another year, be competitive next year and then go all out Arch Manning the next year after that,” Cruz said. “Now we’ve assembled a team through the draft and free agency. We have a draft year to put guys in contention, to build our roster the right way, to build depth at all these positions. … Then we’ll go get a quarterback in free agency and see what happens.”

So who does Cruz want in third place?

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“I like it Travis Hunter. You put him with Malik Naber and give him some plays on defense? come on It’s hard to skip it. That’s the game changer I’m talking about. That’s a guy you can’t game plan for. Imagine a team that has to game plan for a guy on defense and then say, ‘Oh, by the way, he’s going to take 30 snaps on offense.’ He’s a guy who can really do some good things for us.

“He’s a great personality. He’s a great kid. It’s going to be fun out there, and him and Malik Nabers together, seeing their energy and envisioning that together not only on the court, but marketing abundance off the court, those guys are going to destroy it in New York.

“And I just think that the two of them together could also help each other and feed off each other and help each other grow at the same time so they can be together and face all the ups and downs that will come. And they could be the glue that holds the team together together and keep everything positive.”

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