Robert Forgione asks: Ed, do you think Schoen would fire his good friend if Mara told him we need a change? Also, how hard would it be to attract a new DC, if Bowen is released? Seems coaches would be reluctant to come here thinking Daboll is “dead man walking”.
Ed says: Robert, if it is a choice between having his job and not having his job of course Schoen would sign off on firing Brian Daboll. He probably wouldn’t like it, but he’d like not having his own job even less. He knows he would probably never get to be a GM again. I do think the defensive coordinator pool might be limited, both by whatever Daboll’s status is and by the reality that it would be the third DC in as many years.
Brian Misdom asks: Hi Ed, given the Giants record, there is an increasing amount of speculation on Daboll’s future.
I haven’t heard as much noise about Schoen. Why does he seem to be “safer” to keep his job?
His 2024 draft class looks good but his greatest accomplishment has been cleaning up the cap. If Daboll is fired, I think Schoen is at least equally culpable for what we’ve seen.
Ed says: Brian, both guys have made mistakes. If you fire the GM, though, you are talking about blowing up the entire organization. Again. Coaching staff. Scouting department. Front office. Everything. Which means starting another build from scratch.
I recently offered Les Snead of the Los Angeles Rams as a recent example of a general manager who has succeeded after several rocky years at the beginning of his tenure. Nick Caserio went 3-13-1 with David Culley and 4-13 with Lovie Smith before hiring DeMeco Ryans as head coach in Houston. George Young way back in the 1980s with the Giants was another example. It took Young several years to get the Giants turned around.
We all want instant gratification. It doesn’t always happen that way.
Jeff Bergman asks: Let’s say Schoen and Mara (and Tisch) decide Daboll is not the right coach and choose to replace him. I believe Schoen only has one more year on his contract so how do the Giants attract a quality candidate into a tough situation working with a GM that could be out in a year? Do the Giants need to extend Schoen to create a stable environment to attract someone good? I know “there’s only 32 of these jobs in the world” but no one wants to go to a job that might only be around for a year either.
Ed says: Jeff, I can’t be 100% certain that Joe Schoen has only one year left on his contract. I’m told that head coach Brian Daboll signed a five-year deal. While four years for a new GM is fairly standard, since Daboll and Schoen were hired as a duo in the same cycle it would seem logical to believe Schoen is also operating on a five-year deal. Thus, both would have two years remaining on their contracts if that were the case.
You could be right that there might be some candidates who might hesitate if they think the GM is on shaky ground. I doubt the Giants would extend Schoen at this point. If he has a five-year deal through 2026 there wouldn’t be a need to even consider it.
Would I understand some head-coaching candidates being hesitant to come to the Giants? Sure. There has to be trust and a good working relationship between a GM and head coach. If the two are on different tracks or timelines, that may not be the result.
Jon Joel asks: All kidding aside, what do you think about the Giants signing Daniel Jones as a bridge quarterback next year?
Ed says: Umm … no. Even if it was a good idea, which it’s not, there is no chance Jones would do that.
Andrew Greene asks: I completely agree that if the Giants are in a position to get Sanders or Ward and whoever is doing the evaluations decides they really like one, they should not get cute and grab him. But let’s say that either they don’t like them or they are gone. I really don’t want to see them miss a pick like we did with DJ as we have seen the long term damage that does. Would you consider getting Kirk Cousins as we continue to rebuild at other areas of need? His salary for next year is only $27.5M. And if so, what is reasonable draft capital to part with?
Ed says: Andrew, yes, I think Cousins would be on the list of bridge/placeholder quarterbacks who would be considered. Cousins has not played well recently, and with Michael Penix Jr. there to take over, the Atlanta Falcons would not be in a strong bargaining position in trade talks.
If it’s me, I wouldn’t offer more than a couple of Day 3 picks. Here are some recent quarterback trades for comparison. The more the Falcons push for in return, the more of Cousins’ salary I would want them to eat.
Cousins would not be my top option. But, I think he would have to be in the discussion.
Keith Nersten asks: I am not in love with Sanders or Ward. I would love to see them trade down with the Saints, get another 2nd rounder & a 1st next year. The pick I would love is Mason Graham. Him, Dex, Burns & Thibodeaux would be tremendous. IOL & CB in Round 2. Thoughts?
Ed says: Keith, I don’t know how you can pick a specific team to trade down with now when we don’t know what the draft order would be. I also hate, hate, hate the idea of committing to “this is the position I want to take in Round x.” That is how teams make mistakes. Those positions might be priorities, but you pick based on the players available. You don’t say “I’m picking a cornerback regardless of what players are on the board.”
As for trading down, if the Giants don’t love Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders I have no issue trading down and selecting Jalen Milroe, Drew Allar or someone else they decide they want to work with. I don’t think they can punt entirely on the quarterback class.
As for Graham, yes, the best defensive lineman in the draft class would look nice in a Giants uniform.
Jason Sorley asks: Recent mailbags have covered the draft options in a lot of detail but Free Agency comes first. We know the positions of need: QB, DT, CB, S, OL. Are there any players out there that you’d like to see the Giants prioritize or do you believe they need to address who will be coaching this team, and system fits, to make that assessment?
Ed says: Jason, I think it is really early for that. We will start looking at that once the season is over. And, yes, who the GM and coach are going to be will matter.
Lawrence Kenney asks: I agree with you that if Sanders or Ward is your guy and he’s available y go for it
Regarding Sanders, I seem to recall some controversy with teammates. Also having him as QB will bring Deion into the picture. Deion will not be like Archie Manning and watch quietly from the wings!!!
So unless Sanders is considered head and shoulders over Ward, wouldn’t Ward be the better option assuming they’re both available?
Ed says: Lawrence, we are going to go around and around on this for the next few months — assuming that Deion will even have the Giants on his list of acceptable teams for Shedeur.
I am admittedly leery of the Sanders sideshow, but right now I honestly don’t know which guy is the better option.
David Silver asks: While there is good reason to be excited about this year’s draft, we are also getting a better sense of how bad Schoen’s previous drafts are looking. My question is, based on their performance so far, where should Kayvon Thibodeaux, John Michael Schmitz, and Josh Ezeudu rank in their draft class? They sure don’t look like a first rounder, a second rounder, and a third rounder. Would you say they were all drafted about one round two high, or worse?
Ed says: David, you can’t do it that way. You can’t go back and say “based on what we know now where should a player have been drafted.” Teams can only go on the information they have at the time and when they think a player’s upside is.
Early in the draft process, many thought Thibodeaux might be the No. 1 overall pick. He was a top 10 player on almost every big board. So, too, was Evan Neal. In fact, a lot of the boards I looked at in answering this question had Neal ranked above Thibodeaux. So, drafting either player in the top 10 was the right value. Now, has Thibodeaux played up to being the No. 5 overall pick? I don’t think so, but you can’t say “he should have been taken in the second round.”
The lowest I saw John Michael Schmitz ranked on any 2023 prospect big board was No. 48. Many scouts believed he was a first-round value. The Giants got him at No. 57. They got good value. He has improved this season, but still needs to continue on that path to become the player the Giants hoped he would be.
Josh Ezeudu was a third- or fourth-round value on most of the boards I looked at. Again, taken in the right place. I don’t think the Giants have handled him properly. He should be a full-time guard at the NFL level.
The real mystery, quite honestly, is why so many players who appear to have been taken in the appropriate spots in their draft classes have not played to the level the Giants thought they would.
John Foti asks: You always say that if you “love” a quarterback then you should draft him. I agree with that, as long as you’re not the only one who loves him. I think Joe Schoen will draft a quarterback if both he and Brian Daboll “love” him. We hear a lot of common critiques when a QB is being evaluated, such as, “doesn’t have an elite arm”, “doesn’t have great mobility”, “doesn’t see the field well”, “bad decision making”.
You talk to a lot of people who spend lots of time evaluating college players. Based on the history of college quarterbacks who have entered the NFL the last 10 years, what would you say is the easiest of these problems to solve and what is the hardest one to correct?
Ed says: John, there is nothing you can do about a player’s physical traits. The arm strength, the size, athleticism, mobility are what they are.
I think quarterbacks can learn to see the field better and make better decisions as they gain experience and understand more about what is happening around them, and what they can and cannot do.
As we saw with Daniel Jones, I think one thing that is difficult to change is “processing speed.” Jones came into the NFL with the reputation of a quarterback who needed to see a play before he threw it rather than being able to throw with anticipation. That never changed.
Dennis Norton asks: Ed — like all Giants’ fans, I want them to get the highest draft pick they can. However, I cannot watch a game and not root for them to win, it’s just in my DNA. Here’s the question: last game of the year and we still have only 2 wins. The Eagles need the win to get the #1 seed in the NFC Playoffs. A Giant win knocks them out of the top 5 on the draft board but also knocks the Eagles out of the #1 seed. Do you root for the Giants to win?
Ed says: Dennis, that’s an individual decision. Me? I would always root the win. Who wouldn’t enjoy beating the Eagles and making their path more difficult? Maybe you end up with Jalen Milroe in the draft instead of Cam Ward. Maybe that works out being a better choice. Who knows?
Albert Juliano asks: In last weeks Mailbag edition you responded to two questions regarding the the degree to which John Mara is responsible for the team’s performance by first acknowledging some degree of culpability on the part of ownership, but then finished your answer by noting that Mara is not solely responsible for decisions because Tisch has a 50% share in the franchise as well. As a fan since 1962 I have suffered through more losing seasons than not. Before John assumed the the ownership mantel 61% of the seasons were either at .500 or below while John has overseen such seasons 57% of the time. Those stats do not include the seasons prior to 1962. Yes there were moments of brilliance during the Super Bowl years but even then the team has never had extended seasons of success. And lets not forget that Pete Rozelle had to help resolve the dispute between Wellington and his nephew Tim, resulting in the hiring of George Young, who was the mastermind behind the teams resurgence. Ernie Accorsi came out of those years to replace Young and had some limited success as well. The common denominator in all this has been the Mara ownership. Of course we know he will never sell his share of the team, though i only wish he would.
So here is the question: Why do you, like so many sports writers, give the Maras a free pass when the responsibility for years of futility should fall squarely on their shoulders?
Ed says: Albert, who says ownership (you have to include the Tisch family) has gotten free pass? I don’t think that is the case. I have questioned many of the hiring choices they have made, going all the way back to blaming Jerry Reese for the mess the Giants were in after the 2015 season, but keeping Reese and pushing Coughlin out the door.
Ownership is ultimately responsibile. I know that. They know it. But, it is ridiculous to think they don’t care about winning. They do, they just haven’t got it right. I have said you are wasting your energy calling for the Mara family to sell its interest in the team. It’s been the family business for 100 years, and will continue to be.
Submit a question
Have a Giants-related question? E-mail it to [email protected] and it might be featured in our weekly mailbag.
