CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi was in a posh Charlotte hotel on Jan. 8, 2013, waiting for Dave Gettleman to return from dinner with Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.

Gettleman would be named Carolina's general manager the next day. Accorsi, who recommended his then 61-year-old friend and former colleague with the Giants to Richardson, wanted to have a celebratory beer in the hotel bar.

On Gettleman's tab, naturally.

"Dave comes down wearing a T-shirt, flip-flops and shorts," Accorsi vividly recalled. "We're sitting at the bar and I said, 'Look. This bar is full and they don't have a clue who the hell you are. But at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning everybody in this city is gonna know who you are.'

"I told him those flip-flops and shorts aren't going to sell around here."

Those who didn't recognize Gettleman then certainly do now. The Panthers (13-0) are the only undefeated team in the NFL, and their Boston-born general manager is a big reason why.

Sunday's game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium is like a homecoming for Gettleman, who spent 14 years with the Giants as a scout or pro personnel director.

But Gettleman would tell you this game is not about him. Well, that's what he'd say if he spoke to the media during the season, which he doesn't do in order to keep the focus on the players and coaches.

Gettleman also would tell you he's not about to change his image.

Dave Gettleman's fashion sense might evoke good-natured joking, but his work as the Panthers' GM certainly doesn't. Chuck Burton/AP

Yes, he still wears shorts, higher on the waist than most. That often earns him ribbing by players and even coaches. Asked how he would describe Gettleman, coach Ron Rivera smiled and said, "Physically?"

Accorsi isn't surprised Gettleman still wears the shorts. He's also not surprised the Panthers are thriving under Gettleman.

He gave much of the credit for the Giants' Super Bowl victories in 2007 and 2011 to Gettleman's personnel recommendations.

"We hit a home run on almost every one," Accorsi said.

Gettleman has done the same thing at Carolina, from the addition of left tackle Michael Oher, whom much of the league had given up on, to veteran safeties Kurt Coleman and Roman Harper.

Some critics called Gettleman crazy for drafting defensive tackle Kawann Short in the second round of the 2013 draft after selecting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei in the first.

Nobody is saying that now. Short leads the team in sacks with nine and the two tackles anchor the front seven of the league's third-ranked defense.

If you haven't heard, Gettleman loves his big men because they are tasked with protecting the quarterback and pressuring the quarterback. He calls them "hog mollies."

"We used to call it the dance of the elephants," Accorsi said.

Gettleman also has taken the Panthers from salary-cap hell -- they were more than $16 million over the cap at one point -- to financial stability.

So for all the kidding Gettleman takes about his physique, players and coaches love him.

"He's got the 'My Cousin Vinny' way about him," said Rivera, referring to the 1992 movie starring Joe Pesci as a sociable Northerner working as a defense attorney in the heart of Alabama.

"He's gregarious. He's emotional. He's very convicted in what he believes in. He's great to work with. He's compromising. He's hard-lined."

Gettleman isn't afraid to make the tough decisions, such as letting all-time leading receiver Steve Smith Sr. and all-time leading rusher DeAngelo Williams go in consecutive offseasons.

"Dave's a football guy," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, whose office used to be next to Gettleman's. "Give him a screen and a projector, whatever we call it today, and give him players to evaluate and he's exceptional."

Gettleman is a workaholic, but it doesn't feel like that to him because he doesn't look at work as a job.

"It's not like it's any chore to him," Accorsi said. "He devours it. I was a worrier, and I'm sure he worries too. But he does his job with a lot more jovial attitude than I did mine."

Gettleman loves work so much that he can't figure out when to get a much-needed knee replacement. He's too busy making sure the Panthers have everything they need for the stretch run and the playoffs, as he was doing Tuesday when he signed cornerback Robert McClain.

Immediately after the season won't work because that's his time for player evaluation and negotiating with free agents.

Then comes the NFL combine and the draft. Then comes offseason workouts and minicamp.

Gettleman also likes to enjoy what little free time he has, so he's not thrilled about spending a month between the June minicamp and training camp in the hospital and in rehab.

That topic brought Accorsi back to the shorts.

"The main reason he's got to get it taken care of is his legs are so ugly," Accorsi said with a laugh. "He used to walk around [the office] in those shorts and flip-flops and I'd say, 'Do I have to look at these legs one more day?'"

Accorsi is glad Gettleman's legs wound up at Carolina after failing to convince the Cleveland Browns -- twice -- to hire him. Gettleman also was passed over for the GM job at Kansas City in 2009.

That was one of the topics at the bar on Jan. 8, 2013.

"I told him when he got the job with the Panthers that things happen for a reason, that you ended up with the best job and a great owner," Accorsi said. "He's perfect for that organization."

Short pants and all.