Many in the New York Giants fan base, probably even a majority, wanted general manager Joe Schoen fired after a two-year stretch that saw the Giants go 7-27. Voters in a poll here at Big Blue View seem to believe by a wide margin that ownership made the wrong decision by retaining Schoen.
Schoen seemed to understand on Monday during an end-of-season press conference some organizations would not have given him the opportunity to conduct after compiling a 22-45-1 record and having his hand-picked head coach be fired that he was fortunate to work for a franchise that craves stability.
Schoen said he was “honored and humbled that [co-owners] John Mara and Steve Tisch allowed me to see this process through.”
Mara, battling cancer, did not speak to media as he sometimes has on what is commonly known as “Baggy Day” when players pack up to head to wherever they will spend the offseason.
Mara and Tisch released a statement announcing Schoen’s return. It said in part that “Continuity and stability in the front office is important to our progress. We believe in our young core of talent, which we can build around for future success.”
Can Schoen make ownership right?
“I made mistakes”
To fix a problem, you first have to admit there is a problem. To get better at whatever you do, you need to admit you have not been perfect.
“Early on I made mistakes,” Schoen said. “I’m fortunate to have great ownership here where you’re allowed to stub your toe and try to course correct.”
Schoen feels that course correction has already begun, though the record hasn’t shown progress.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve been able to add a franchise quarterback. You’ve been able to add a number one receiver in (wide receiver) Malik Nabers, and again, I’m looking forward to getting him back. The defensive line, the pass rushers. There are pieces in place that also make this an attractive job,” Schoen said. “Looking at where we’re going, where the build is, what the plan is moving forward, and seeing the vision through is why I think that’s the case.”
We have talked about Schoen’s mistakes. They include:
Highly-drafted players like Evan Neal, Deonte Banks, and Jalin Hyatt not working out; Largely underwhelming work in free agency; A high number of talented, core players leaving the Giants and succeeding elsewhere; Hiring Brian Daboll as head coach.
Schoen pointed to one particular mistake he will try not to make again, and it is relevant with a coaching change coming.
“When you draft players or sign players, you want them to be versatile schematically,” Schoen said. “Because as we see today and previously, coaches come and go. It’s just the reality of it.
“So, guilty of drafting a scheme-specific player before and then coaches come and go, and then maybe those decisions don’t work out. So, due to that lesson I learned throughout this process, try to make it where these players are able to be versatile enough to fit into whatever scheme we’re in. And I feel like the players on the roster right now can do that.”
The first-round selection of cornerback Deonte Banks for Wink Martindale’s press-man heavy system leaps to mind as an example. Banks has been lost since Martindale moved on.
Schoen’s drafts the last two seasons have been better, though second-round pick Tyler Nubin and third-round pick Dru Phillips have not been as impactful as might have been hoped.
What the Giants want in a coach
After winning a Coach of the Year award in his first season with the Giants, Brian Daboll’s next 2½ seasons proved that Schoen got that one wrong. He won’t be first GM to get a second crack at fixing a similar mistake.“
“There’s several criteria that we’re going to look for, leadership being an important element in the head coaching world. Football acumen will be important. Player development is very important, having a plan for player development. We have a young quarterback. It’s going to be important that there’s a plan in terms of (quarterback) Jaxson’s (Dart) development, holding people accountable, and communication,” Schoen said. “There’s a lot that goes into the head coach that can fall under that leadership element, but those are some of the characteristics that we’re going to be looking for in the next head coach.”
The GM, who is leading the search but will not make the decision on his own, said the Giants will “cast a wide net.”
Schoen admitted that Daboll’s firing has helped the process of identifying the candidates the Giants will interview.
“Having this runway has really helped,” Schoen said. “There’s not a lot of positives of making an in-season coaching change but having this runway to really do a deep dive on a wide array of candidates. I sit in my office and watch Thursday press conferences for coordinators, integration of AI on some things that we’ve utilized, calling around. Again, it’s hard when you’re an assistant general manager somewhere and you’re on a playoff run, you don’t have a job yet to call around and do the amount of research that we can do.
“When I got hired, I didn’t have an assistant general manager. I really didn’t have a staff to assist me. It’s going to be a very thorough search. I feel really good about the information we’ve collected already. There’s some really good candidates. Again, on both sides of the ball, collegiately, we’re going to look everywhere. And then going through it. Sitting in the seat as GM, having a head coach down the hallway, what are those interactions like throughout the calendar year, postgame after a win, postgame after a loss, free agency, draft, the collaboration between the coaching staff and the personnel, what worked, what didn’t work. So, a lot of that stuff will help me, because of the experience, identify really what we’re looking for in the next coach.”
Schoen has to get this right. If he does not, there won’t be a third opportunity. There is also the fate of a young franchise quarterback at stake. Getting it right isn’t easy, and Schoen admitted there are “more misses than hits” when it comes to hiring coaches.
Schoen said it is easier to know what you are going to get from a veteran head coach.
“The deep dive on the research, people that have worked with these individuals, I think is very important. Looking, talking to players, player quotes on different coaches. If you’re fortunate enough to get some players that maybe played under those guys, that’s important,” Schoen said. “And then, yeah, the head coach has a track record. You want to know how they manage games. You can go bring up game management situations, which we’ve done that on some of these candidates. Game management is an important part of it. You can go see how they were in front of the media after wins, after losses. What their record was, it’s right there, where they ranked offensively, defensively. So that’s a little bit easier because the information there is for you versus a projection with a offensive, defensive coordinator, whoever it may be that hasn’t been a head coach in the NFL before.”
“Ultimately, it’s ownership’s decision”
Schoen and his staff are doing the leg work on the coaching hire. He knows, though, that whoever the Giants hire is not going to be his decision alone.
“I’ve been doing a lot of research with some of my leadership group, not just me, but there’s a few of us that have been doing a lot of research. We are gathering names, gathering information, providing that to ownership,” Schoen said. “We will all go through the interview process together, and collectively we’ll come up with who the next head coach of the New York Giants is going to be.
“Ultimately, it’s ownership’s decision, but I imagine that’s going to be a collaborative effort.”
Jaxson Dart’s role
Schoen was asked if quarterback Jaxson Dart would have “input” into the decision. He was clear that will not be the case.
“Input? He might meet somebody, but I don’t know about input,” Schoen said. “I love him, but he’s 22 years old or 23, whatever he is, and he’s got one year in the league. Could he potentially meet a candidate? Sure, but we’ll make the decision ultimately.”
“Excitement for the opportunity’
As you would expect him to do, Schoen brushed off the idea that some candidates for the head-coaching job would not want to work with him.
“People talk about that because that’s a rare instance that happened a year ago. I know what you’re talking about, and that’s not necessarily the case in every cycle,” Schoen said. “So, talking to a lot of the representatives of potential head coaches, that has not come up one time and doesn’t appear to be anything that’s going to deter from a coach wanting to take this job.
“There’s actually the opposite. There’s a lot of excitement for the opportunity. We have phenomenal ownership, the history of the team, and some of the young pieces that are in place along with some of the veterans.”
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