Chris Hynes asks: Obviously with Harbaugh coming in, there are going to be many moving parts, do you think if Wan’dale moves on to another team, they would try Hyatt in the slot?
Ed says: Chris, my answer would be no for the simple reason that I don’t think Jalin Hyatt is going to be on the roster. If he is on the roster where he would play might depend on who else is brought in. After three years of nothing is there any real reason to expect a contribution from Hyatt no matter where he plays?
Christopher Scanlon asks: I’ve personally been on the fence as far as Caleb Downs consideration goes. I came up with an interesting thought experiment to help consolidate my opinion. What do you think?
If you could select rookie Kyle Hamilton this year, fifth overall,with full knowledge of his eventual production, would you do it? Essentially, what kind of a difference maker is some version of the best case scenario at this position? Obviously a different player, but say you could get Hamilton level production out of Downs, would we be happy with the pick? Worth passing on a trade down?
Ed says: Chris, Hamilton is a three-time All-Pro, two of those First-Team selections, in three seasons. I would absolutely be thrilled with that kind of production. Of course, I was someone who thought Hamilton should have been in play for the Giants when they had picks 5 and 7 in 2022.
As for a trade down, it depends on what is being offered. I am never going to be unhappy with a difference-making defensive player at No. 5, regardless of position.
Ralph R Kopera asks: Seems like we can’t go a week without a Trade Thibs article with one of the supposed benefits of the trade freeing up his $14.7M in salary cap hit.
But there are other ways to reduce that hit. The first would be to extend him.
Since none of use knows what Harbaugh or Wilson think of Thibs as a player, no telling if they’d even consider it. But they could.
Given his performance he should not be looking to top out the edge market, but who knows if either side wants an extension.
But here is my question: could they use void years and turn his salary into a bonus?
Currently, Thibs has $14.7 salary due. Can they change his base to $1.2M and make the other $13.5M as a bonus, adding void years to spread out the cap hits.
If they add three void years, this makes the bonus worth 3.375 each year (this year plus 3 void years) and this year is $4.575M instead of $14.7M. Saving $10M in cap hit. Or is this something that needed to be done prior to the start of this league year?
Ed says: Ralph, no they can’t do anything with Kayvon Thibodeaux’s cap hit this year. He is playing on his fifth-year option, and that is non-negotiable.
They could offer him a contract extension, but that would not kick in until 2027.
Steve Alessandrini asks: I’ve seen several “stories” emerge recently that imply Schoen is now secretly pretty powerless and much of the org reports to Dawn Aponte, who reports to Harbaugh. Candidly, many of these feel like hit pieces to discredit Schoen by his detractors vs giving fans real news. Obviously Schoen lost some power with the head coach no longer reporting to him, but was curious for your objective opinion on what level of power Schoen still maintains and what relegated to Harbaugh or Aponte?
Ed says: Steve, there might be a “hit piece” element to some of what has been written. There is, though, truth in the idea that Joe Schoen has lost power since the hiring of John Harbaugh.
Before Harbaugh was hired, Schoen was at the top of the organizational chart directly under ownership when it came to football decisions. He had final say. That is clearly no longer the case.
The most powerful man in the Giants’ organization now outside of ownership is John Harbaugh. If Harbaugh wants to draft Caleb Downs and Schoen doesn’t, the Giants will draft Downs. If Harbaugh wants Tyler Linderbaum in free agency and Schoen doesn’t, the Giants will try to sign Linderbaum. Harbaugh will be the final arbiter on who makes the 53-man roster.
If there are people Harbaugh wants removed from the organization, they are going to get removed. It is his show.
Dawn Aponte has basically the same title that Kevin Abrams had, and the same list of responsibilities. Clearly, though, the fact that she reports to Harbaugh and not to the GM adds weight to that role and takes power away from the GM. They can make cap and contract decisions without Schoen’s input.
It is pretty clear that Harbaugh wanted his own person in the front office to handle contracts and manage the salary cap. Aponte will do that, meaning Schoen no longer has authority over those things. Aponte will also likely be Harbaugh’s front office eyes and ears.
Schoen is no longer driving the bus.
Richard Meyer asks: I am happy with the hiring of Harbaugh, but we must remember he was fired at his last job. I wonder if the reason is that he is rigid – he only hires people from his prior job. He has not changed defensive/offensive schemes He seems not to have any ability to be flexible in changing game patterns. Is this true?
Ed says: Richard, yes, John Harbaugh was fired by the Baltimore Ravens. After 18 highly-successful seasons. The man’s teams made the playoffs 12 times, won a Super Bowl, and had only three losing seasons. Last I checked, that’s a pretty good rate of success.
He only hires coaches from his previous job? He hired 31 coaches for the Giants. There are 15 on staff who worked with him previously. That’s half. He could have brought others, and chose not to.
He hasn’t changed schemes? In 18 seasons, Harbaugh had seven different coordinators on offense and defense. You honestly believe the scheme never changed in all that time? Harbaugh has core beliefs that don’t change. That doesn’t mean the schemes don’t change and evolve as the coaches and players change and evolve.
Harbaugh’s Baltimore teams have fallen short in some big spots in recent years. I doubt there is one specific reason for that.
Ben Bolger asks: Could you give me an idea of what exactly are the responsibilities of the run game and passing game coordinators? I feel like these are relatively new titles. In a chain of command do they slot below OC and above position coaches?
Ed says: Ben, that’s kind of a moving target. Many teams now have run and pass game coordinators on both offense and defense, and I think the role means something different on every coaching staff.
Those run and pass game coordinator titles slot below the overall coordinator. They are responsible for a piece of the puzzle, while the coordinator is responsible for putting together the entire puzzle. Those run and pass game coordinators are often position coaches with an additional title. For the Giants, Charlie Bullen has “defensive run game coordinator” added to his job as outside linebackers coach.
Sometimes those titles are “ceremonial,” just meant to prop up a coach’s resume, get him more money, and keep him on staff. On some staffs, they have real meaning and real responsibilities. Whether that involves studying opponents, game-planning, helping to build schemes, grading and working with personnel in that area of expertise depends on what the head coach and overall coordinator are looking for.
Jaymanjay asks: Please explain to me why Tate is considered worthy of the 5th pick in the draft? There is only one position where need can trump value at a specific draft slot and that’s QB. Nabers was selected 6th overall. He was a number one WR that had 89 receptions and over 1500 yards and 14 TDs in a dominant season. Tate had 50 something rec under 900 yards and 9 TD. These two players are not in the same stratosphere of talent.
But since everyone thinks we need a WR just take the best one available even if in any other draft he would be a second round guy? I hope the Giants can sign Alec Pierce because 5th overall for Tate is just too rich.
Ed says: Jay, this is really a question buried inside a rant. I am not really a fan of those and often pass on answering them, but I will tackle this one because Carnell Tate is a legitimate consideration at No. 5.
First and foremost, Tate is considered a top 10 talent and the top wide receiver in the class by most draft analysts. Secondly, positional value matters in the NFL when it comes to allocating your resources and wide receiver is considered one of the premium positions teams will commit major resources to. Explosive plays win games in the NFL. Wide receivers make a lot of those explosive plays. Third, the Giants have a clear need at the position. Most top NFL offenses have more than one game-changing wide receiver. The Giants do not.
Now, I have the same thought — if he isn’t as a good a prospect as Nabers, how can you draft Tate higher? Reality is, every draft is different. There is only one quarterback likely to be selected in the top five. Several of the other players who might be considered worthy of that pick — safety Caleb Downs, running back Jerimayah Love, guard Vega Ioane, off-ball linebacker Sonny Styles to name a few — play positions not considered to have as much overall value to winning and losing.
I have been case-building for Downs, but to take him at No. 5 rather than a wide receiver or offensive tackle you do truly have to believe he is an exception to the rule.
Doug Mollin asks: Signing Eluemunor or not seems to be one of the biggest offseason forks in the road for the Giants. There are 5 right tackles in the NFL making $22-28M. There are another 5 making about $18M. Then another 7 making about $16M. Like it or not, free agency resets the market almost every year and almost at every position.
If Eluemunor wants to be paid north of $21M, it probably is too rich. But his “fair market value” does certainly seem to be in the $16-18M range. That would pay him like a mid tier RT, which he is IMO. If Eluemunor walks, it probably means a RT at #5 instead of Downs.
Would you rather have Eluemunor at $17M a year and Downs? Or $17M to spend on another spot and Mauigoa?
Ed says: Honestly, I would take Eluemunor and draft Downs in this scenario. I hate the idea of paying Eluemunor that much money. I hate the idea of creating a hole you would have to fill another way even more.
Jerry Terry asks: Ed, I know you don’t talk about yourself much, but this question is for you specifically. You brought up retirement occasionally over the past couple of years. We know about your LONG round trip drive to the stadium. The continuous losing surely hasn’t helped.
So my question is this: Did the Harbaugh hire change how you feel about your retirement plans, whenever that may be? I know for me, my eyes opened wide and I did not get much work done for a week. The energy and enthusiasm are palpable. BBV is lit up like a Christmas Tree.
Did this watershed moment in our Giants history, which may very well lead to a decade of good football, change how you feel about the future longevity of your tenure here?
Ed says: Jerry, I don’t mind answering a question like this. You guys come here every day, so sharing a little personal info is no big deal.
I don’t know that the hiring of John Harbaugh will change my retirement timeline, not that I even have a firm one at this point. I do not. I’m 65. I reach full retirement benefits at 67 and, health-permitting, doubt I would retire before then. Maybe I keep going for a while after that. We’ll see.
I have jokingly been telling people for a while now that I want to cover a good football team again before I retire. The mechanics of the job are basically the same win or lose. Covering a winning team, though, is a lot more fun than covering a losing one. Just like rooting for a team that wins is more fun.
I have never covered a Super Bowl. The “going out on top” scenario for me might be covering a Super Bowl and then calling it a day. I will admit to having thought about that, especially since Harbaugh joined the Giants.
You guys are stuck with me, though, for at least a little bit longer.
Submit a question
Have a Giants-related question? E-mail it to [email protected] and it might be featured in our weekly mailbag.
See More:
