New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman was back on the airwaves on Thursday on WFAN. Gettleman had been staying away from speaking publicly, especially to WFAN, supposedly as a result of former drive time host Mike Francesa’s negative comments about him and the organization.

Speaking with the new drive time hosts, Evan Roberts and Joe Beningo, Gettleman was in a jolly mood and, even though there were some tense moments, the interview was cheery and civil for the most part.

Here are some of the highlights from his Thursday radio spot:

Gettleman said he did not know if he would be coming back until after the season was over. The owners advised him “a few days ago” that he was being retained.

He revealed that he is not solely responsible for hiring the new coach. That process will be a committee approach including co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, himself and assistant GM Kevin Abrams. Gettleman said ownership sets the tone of the meetings and he and Abrams ask the nuts and bolts questions.

Gettleman continued to defend his selection of quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in last year’s draft. He said he’s very excited about what he saw in Jones this year (as most of us were) and said that Jones not only has the physical skills but the mental skills to handle the New York Area Metro market.

But Gettleman did add that he is not obvious to what he gave up by grabbing Jones at No. 6.

“It killed me to go past that pass rusher from Kentucky,” Gettleman said of Josh Allen, who was taken by Jacksonville with the very next pick. “That was hard.”

Going back to the 2018 draft, Gettleman said that taking Saquon at No. 2 was not a statement about other players. It was a statement about Saquon. He knew there’d be quarterbacks in the next draft and he was right.

The issue of personnel control came up and Gettleman knows if giving up some control is the difference between landing a quality coach or not, he’s all for it.

“I’m going to do whatever it takes for the New York Giants to win a Super Bowl. One of the biggest issues we have as men is about control and credit. Let’s just be a team.”

Beningo and Roberts are huge Jets fans and basically thanked Gettleman for taking defensive lineman Leonard Williams off their hands. The GM laughed along with them but claimed that he will have the last laugh.

“Of course we’re going to try to sign him…he wants to be here.”

In regards to the offensive line, Gettleman said he feels good about his inside three (guards Will Hernandez and Kevin Zeitler and center Jon Halapio), saying they are very stout.

He also admitted that left tackle Nate Solder had a down year and that he’s not afraid to draft over anyone.

#Giants Gettleman on the offensive line: "I'm not afraid of drafting over anybody." Moving Solder to right tackle "is for the new coach." Here's my story when I asked Nate about a position switch https://t.co/N5kqfLhit6 — Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) January 2, 2020

In the draft this year, Gettleman will continue to try and improve the pass rush. He made no bones about that being a priority.

Dave Gettleman on @JoeandEvan: “Everybody east of the Pacific Ocean is going to tell you we need a pass rusher, and I don't disagree” — Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) January 2, 2020

His inaccessibility all season stuck in the craw of the Giants’ beat pool and his rocky year-end presser earlier this week has prompted the team to throw out the olive branch. Gettleman promise to be more open and accountable going forward.

“I’ve got to improve my messaging,” he said.