The Carolina Panthers have hired Dave Gettleman as their new general manager.

Gettleman was the Giants' senior pro personnel analyst and had been with the Giants for the past 15 seasons. He was the team's director of pro personnel for 13 seasons, a tenure that included three Super Bowl appearances.

Former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi was serving as a consultant for the Panthers' general manager search, and Gettleman and Marc Ross, the Giants' director of college scouting, were both candidates.

"I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to work in the Panthers organization," Gettleman said in a statement on Panthers.com. "It is similar to the Giants organization in which I have had the privilege of working the last 15 years and has a lot of pieces in place for success. I am excited about getting started."

Gettleman started with the Giants in 1998 as an assistant to then-director Tim Rooney. He was promoted in 1999 after Rooney retired. Gettleman was responsible for the study and evaluation of NFL personnel, particularly free agents.

"Dave knows what a football player is," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "He knows how to evaluate talent. He has done a great job of assessing our talent and the talent around the league and helping to identify those players who fill our needs. He is more than qualified to be Carolina's general manager. He is gifted and talented and has worked for years behind the scenes to make sure we are the best we can be."

Gettleman, 61, has been a part of six Super Bowl teams, also working with Buffalo and Denver.

“I have mixed emotions about this,” said John Mara, Giants’ president and chief executive officer. “Dave certainly deserves to be a general manager, but I am very sorry to lose him. He has been instrumental to the success we have had and we are certainly going to miss him. He will do a great job for the Carolina Panthers.”

While Gettleman leaves, the Giants still have Ross for now. Ross, who has been an integral part in Jerry Reese's drafts, has also been a candidate for several general manager vacancies. In addition to Carolina, Ross interviewed with Chargers, Jets and Jaguars. The Chargers and Jaguars hired general managers this week.

"Dave is extremely qualified to be the general manager of the Panthers and will do a terrific job," Reese said. "I'm thankful for all of his hard work and friendship while here with the Giants."

"The Panthers interviewed two of the top personnel executives in the NFL in Dave and Marc Ross, and couldn't go wrong either way, in my humble opinion."