Ernie Accorsi, Nfl Gm Who Defiantly Drafted Elway, Traded For Eli Manning, Dies

Legendary NFL general manager Ernie Accorsi has died.

The New York Giants, for whom Accorsi served as the GM from 1998 to 2006, announced his passing on Sunday morning. Per the team, Accorsi, "passed away peacefully Saturday while surrounded by the love of his family."

Accorsi, who was involved in some of the most famous episodes of NFL history with various teams, was 84.

"Ernie helped shape the course of New York Giants history through his vision, leadership and unwavering belief in building a championship organization," co-owner and team president John Mara said in a statement. "Beyond his accomplishments as a football executive, he was a trusted advisor and dear friend. His legacy will forever be part of the Giants, and he will be greatly missed."

Accorsi took what was, by modern standards anyway, a non-traditional path to a high-powered league executive − his early years following graduation from Wake Forest University in 1963 spent in the U.S. Army and working as a journalist before joining college athletics departments of St. Joseph's University and Penn State University. He became the Baltimore Colts' director of public relations in 1970. After a stint working in the NFL front office under legendary Commissioner Pete Rozelle starting in 1975, Accorsi returned to the Colts in 1977 before becoming their general manager in 1982.

Baltimore infamously did not win a game in the strike-shortened 1982 campaign, but the Colts' 0-8-1 record earned them the right to draft Stanford quarterback John Elway, who declared he did not want to play for the team or then-coach Frank Kush. Accorsi picked the sublimely talented Elway, a future Hall of Famer, anyway − despite his threats to play baseball for the New York Yankees rather than suit up for the Colts. Team owner Bob Irsay eventually stepped in and traded Elway's rights to the Denver Broncos. Accorsi resigned after the 1983 season, and Irsay moved the Colts to Indianapolis, under the cover of night, shortly thereafter.

Accorsi then spent eight years (1985-92) as executive vice president and GM of the Cleveland Browns, a stretch that coincided with that franchise's most sustained period of success during the Super Bowl era, which began in 1966. With Marty Schottenheimer as the head coach and QB Bernie Kosar, a local favorite whom Accorsi obtained in the 1985 supplemental draft, the Browns reached three AFC championship games between the 1986 and '89 seasons, losing all of them, ironically, to Elway's Broncos. Cleveland lost the 1986 and '87 conference championship games in heartbreaking style, Elway leading a 98-yard fourth-quarter drive to tie the game in Cleveland the first time before Denver won in overtime. The next year, Browns running back Earnest Byner fumbled near the goal line as he appeared poised to score the game-winning touchdown in the final period.

The Browns, one of four NFL franchises to never reach the Super Bowl, have not reached the AFC title game since Accorsi's departure.

Ernie Accorsi's Giants era

Accorsi left Cleveland in 1992 and joined the Giants two years later as their assistant GM. He took over the general manager position in 1998 and remained there for nine seasons, including a trip to Super Bowl 35 following the 2000 campaign, a game the Giants lost decisively to the Baltimore Ravens. During his tenure, Accorsi hired head coach Tom Coughlin and acquired quarterback Eli Manning, a tandem that would lead the Giants to wins in Super Bowl 42 and 46, the first occurring the season after Accorsi retired in 2006 − though the team awarded him a Super Bowl ring following New York's unforgettable upset of the previously undefeated New England Patriots to cap the 2007 season.

Accorsi's ability to acquire Manning was something of an evening of football's scalres of justice more than two decades after he lost out on Elway. Manning was selected first overall atop the 2004 NFL draft but refused to play for the San Diego Chargers. Accorsi, who was picking fourth overall that year, swooped in with a trade package that included the rights to North Carolina State QB Philip Rivers and a 2005 first-round pick in order to pry Manning out of San Diego.

"I was extremely sad to hear the news about Ernie," Manning said in a statement. "I call Ernie every draft week for the last 12 years, maybe longer than that, and just thank him for making the trade and believing in me and bringing me to the New York Giants. I know he was the believer in me and kind of the reason I got here.

"I appreciated him so much for building such great teams and giving us the opportunity to win some championships here. He was always so fun to sit with and just talk, whether it's the Giants or his time in Baltimore around the Colts. His stories around the NFL and the people he was around that shaped his career were always so entertaining. I know the Giants organization owes a lot of thanks to Ernie Accorsi and what he was able to do for the organization."

Over the course of a 16-year career, spent entirely with the Giants, Manning was twice named the Super Bowl's MVP and took ownership of most of the 101-year-old franchise's significant passing records, most by a wide margin.

The Colts, Browns and Giants won a combined 143 games under Accorsi.

Mel Kiper Jr. connection

Accorsi also notably helped launch the career of ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., a Baltimore native, encouraging him to build his scouting service in the 1970s. Accorsi nearly hired Kiper at the end of his Colts tenure, but Kiper joined ESPN instead amid the franchise's relocation to Indianapolis.

"Ernie Accorsi was one of the most respected football minds in NFL history and a dear friend whose wisdom and perspective I valued tremendously," league Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

"Throughout his remarkable career, he shaped championship-caliber clubs and earned the admiration of everyone who worked with him.

“Ernie's impact extended beyond the teams he served. As co-chair of the General Managers Advisory Committee, he helped guide our game and strengthen the NFL. His integrity, common sense and commitment to doing what was best for football made him an invaluable voice.

“Ernie was thoughtful, humble, and he cared deeply about the people in our league. He never lost sight of the relationships that make football special and we will all greatly miss him.”

The Giants also distributed a statement attributed to Accorsi's family that read:

"It was the honor of my dad's lifetime to represent the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants, three organizations that meant so much to him throughout his remarkable career. Our family is deeply grateful to each of them and to the many people who became lifelong friends along the way.

"We are especially grateful to the New York Giants organization, John Mara, Ronnie Barnes, and the late Wellington Mara for their friendship, loyalty, and love for my father over so many years. The Giants were far more than a team to him. They were family, and being part of that family was something he treasured. Once a Giant, always a Giant."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ernie Accorsi, NFL GM who defiantly drafted Elway, traded for Eli Manning, dies