Losers of five straight, the Giants have not won a game since John Mara issued a vote of confidence in the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime. Mara offered support for the decision-makers to stay throughout this season and said he did not anticipate a change in 2025. Some around the league are skeptical of this pledge.
At 2-8, this Giants team is probably testing the owner’s patience. When asked about his future in New York, Schoen said (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) he does expect to be back next year. The third-year GM indicated he discusses plans with ownership regularly.
“We have a really good relationship with ownership,” Schoen said, via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. “… There’s confidence in the plan and where we’re going.”
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Arriving after a stay as the Bills’ assistant GM, Schoen helped the Giants to a surprise playoff berth in 2022. Not much has gone right since, with the team’s front office boss taking heat due to his offseason decisions — calls magnified due to the Giants being the Hard Knocks franchise’s maiden-voyage offseason project. Both Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney are having All-Pro-caliber years. Both players hit the open market in March, as the Giants passed on a second Barkley franchise tag and did not opt to use the transition tag on McKinney.
Windfalls awaited both players, as Schoen poured resources into the offensive line (via middle-class contracts for Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor). team’s pass rush by trading for Brian Burns and extending him at a rate then second only to Nick Bosa among edge rushers. The ex-Panthers rusher’s Carolina play did not warrant such a commitment, one that now sits third at the position after Josh Hines-Allen signed a Jaguars re-up, but Burns had maximized his leverage.
Schoen has also run into scrutiny for his draft record. The team has seen 2022 No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal careen toward bust status, beginning the season as a healthy scratch after a two-season struggle at right tackle. The Giants have also not seen 2023 first-round cornerback Deonte Banks live up to expectations. Multiple warnings about a lack of effort preceded a benching against the Steelers. The Giants also stood pat at the trade deadline, not accepting any offers for contract-year cogs Darius Slayton or Azeez Ojulari — both Dave Gettleman draftees. Gettleman acquisitions — Barkley, McKinney and All-Pros Dexter…