NFL

Ravens’ intriguing success could weigh heavy for Joe Hortiz in Giants’ GM search

No one laughs at the Baltimore Ravens for handing out “lifetime” contracts in the front office.

Winning consistently tends to alleviate criticism.

There was a noticeable buzz within the organization Saturday, when all attention surrounding the Giants’ general manager vacancy turned to Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz’s interview. The Ravens represent what the Giants once were and want to be again — a stable hierarchy built on longevity and internal promotions — thus a deep curiosity exists in East Rutherford for their model of operation.

Hortiz is a member of the Ravens’ 20/20 club, which refers to members of the personnel staff who started at the bottom as 20-somethings earning around $20,000 per year under longtime GM Ozzie Newsome and grew to hold substantial roles. By now, it could be the 20/20/20 club, because a few have lasted more than 20 years, including GM Eric DeCosta (who started in 1996) and Hortiz (1998).

The Giants are about to hire a GM from outside their network for the first time since 1979, after the line of succession went from George Young to Ernie Accorsi to Jerry Reese to Dave Gettleman. Assistant GM Kevin Abrams was groomed to be next, with director of college scouting Chris Pettit as his right hand. Both have spent more than 20 years in the organization.

Giants
Joe Hortiz Baltimore Ravens

But the Giants’ closed-network approach needs fresh eyes after they have compiled a 61-100 record with one playoff berth since winning Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012. One year later, the Ravens won a championship, and they are 83-62 with four playoff berths since then.

Of the many reasons for the divergent paths, the biggest might be drafting success. Hortiz served as the Ravens’ director of college scouting from 2009-18 before a promotion that brought him into the building as a football administrator instead of working remotely from Alabama.

“Joe almost never makes an evaluation mistake,” a Ravens official told The Post’s Ian O’Connor. One league executive described Hortiz as a true “scout.” Another scouting source described Hortiz as a “good personality with potential,” but expressed concerns that GM of the Giants is a “big spotlight job” for someone without decision-making experience — which applies to all nine candidates receiving interviews.

Phil Savage and George Kokinis — two of Newsome’s older protégés — failed as Browns GMs. Kokinis returned to Baltimore and is in the 20/20 club.

Since 2009, when Hortiz’s role expanded, the Ravens have drafted 16 Pro Bowlers and six First-Team All-Pros. The Giants have drafted six Pro Bowlers and two First-Team All-Pros despite routinely having the better draft position. Just two of the Giants’ 10 eligible first-rounders have signed second contracts, while three of the Ravens’ nine eligible first-rounders have been retained.

“We know our standards, and we ask the right questions,” DeCosta said earlier this year. “We have developed, I think, a great system of interviewing players over the last 5-7 years under Joe and George. We have really tweaked it and refined it. We’ve done a lot of research on interviewing players and getting to know players. I think we have a phenomenal system in place — very cutting edge.”

It’s impossible to judge from the outside which executives are most responsible for drafting which players, but it’s clear that Hortiz has maintained a voice in successful evaluations. And, results aside, the Giants need a new process.

Gettleman made significant changes to the Giants’ grading system and overhauled a department of longtime scouts. But both he and Reese were resistant to trading down, and the Ravens’ willingness to move around the board and compile draft capital has allowed for more shots at filling the roster with inexpensive quality contributors and better team speed.

The Giants have made 15 picks in the third round, 13 in the fourth and 12 in the fifth in the past 12 drafts, while the Ravens have made 21, 25 and 19, respectively. The third round has been a notorious desert for the Giants, whose last significant contributor was Mario Manningham, drafted in 2008. The last third-rounder to sign a second contract was 2005 pick Justin Tuck.

One point of emphasis for the Giants is expected to be better alignment between the front office and coaching staff on personnel.

“I think Eric, his staff and Joe Hortiz have a great process,” Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman said earlier this year. “I’ve been on a lot of different teams, and the process and how they do what they do here is, quite frankly, better than anything I’ve seen. We all have our input.”

The Giants wanted to know more.