Joe

Schoen

The contract’s details have not yet been fully disclosed, but it is reportedly a multi-year extension. Giants ownership is evidently pleased with Schoen’s offseason moves. One pre-draft report indicated that Schoen “could be done” after the 2026 NFL Draft. Evidently, things are on the upswing in New York.

The speculation comes from “a few league sources.” When John Harbaugh accepted the Giants’ head coaching role, he got it in writing that he would report to owner John Mara, not Schoen. After signing on the dotted line, Harbaugh hired NFL chief football administrative officer Dawn Aponte as the Giants’ new senior vice president of football operations and strategy. Per Leonard, “while Schoen is still running the scouting staff and working some phones, the bulk of the Giants’ operation otherwise reports to Aponte.” Schoen is in the final year of his contract and reportedly has a good relationship with some in the Giants’ ownership group, but his polling among players is not good. They reportedly gave his performance in March a D+ grade, which he refused to “give validity.” Perhaps he dazzles on Thursday, and this all becomes moot. For now, we suspect his seat is at least mildly warm, though.

“This wasn’t about Schoen; the coach definitely feels he can work with the GM. Harbaugh wanted the ability to impact the entire operation, from security to training to analytics to media relations to staff size to assistant salaries to relocation expenses to you name it. And yes, in the unlikely event there’s a stalemate on draft day between Harbaugh and Schoen, there’s no longer any question who will prevail,” O’Connor writes. Well then. Joe Schoen begins the Harbaugh Era as a convenient scapegoat the second it takes more than a year to get things going in the right direction. What could go wrong for him?

The Giants are 22-45-1 in four seasons under Schoen, which includes one playoff appearance and one playoff victory. According to a report from the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, Schoen will lead the search for hiring a new coach, his second with the Giants. Around this time last year, Giants owner John Mara gave his coach Brian Daboll and Schoen a vote of confidence with the implication being that if the Giants had another bad season, both would be looking for new jobs. Daboll didn’t make it past Week 10 as he was fired with a 2-8 record, but somehow Schoen remains. Landing Malik Nabers, Theo Johnson, Tyrone Tracy, Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo in the last two drafts has bought him more time, however misguided that might be.

“We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to it’s development,” was the direct quote from owner John Mara. Do not link him to the 2022 or 2023 Giants draft classes. That would be mean. It does appear that hitting on Malik Nabers, Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart, and Cam Skattebo has bought Schoen more time than we would have expected from the outside.

This news comes minutes after it was announced that the Giants had fired head coach Brian Daboll. Schoen was hired as the Giants’ GM in 2022 and has his fingerprints all over a roster that has opened the season with a 2-8 record for the third-straight year. While the win/loss record doesn’t look great, Schoen seems to have hit on a few important picks in recent years. Wide receiver Malik Nabers looks like the real deal, and rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo have both shined in limited action this season. It’s too early to say that Schoen is safe beyond this season, but interim HC Mike Kafka will now have a chance to show what he can do with this roster, which could play a role in determining Schoen’s fate this offseason.

We know that the Giants tried to trade up to get the number one overall pick and draft Cam Ward earlier tonight. The Giants have also been repeatedly linked to Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, who Brian Daboll supposedly loves. Dart could be the target if the Giants can swing a deal and jump back into the first round.

Hughes acknowledged that the Giants have a “desperate need for a franchise quarterback,” but GM Joe Schoen reportedly said that he “will not force the issue” by drafting a quarterback they deem unworthy of the No. 3 overall pick. Hughes described Schoen as “giddy” when discussing the possibility of drafting Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter. Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders and Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter are still in play, though Hughes called Sanders a “reach” at the No. 3 spot.

It was part of a blanket release in which the team affirmed they were also keeping head coach Brian Daboll. It has been rumored for some time that the Giants wanted to keep both in their roles, with John Mara endorsing them at midseason. But an embarrassing 3-14 record put them deeper under the microscope. Mara told reporters that improvement needed to come soon because “it better not take too long, because I’ve just about run out of patience.” It sure feels like an uncomfortable edict for a team that hasn’t shown much improvement under Schoen and needs a lot of help to get to mediocre in a suddenly-stacked NFC East.

Per Schultz, Giants owner John Mara is evaluating the two independently, meaning one could be fired after the season with the other sticking around. Schultz added that “exploratory calls” about this scenario have already been made. Two years after going 9-7-1 and winning a playoff game in their first season in New York, Schoen and Daboll bottomed out in 2024 with a 3-13 record heading into Week 18. Daniel Jones was benched and then cut, leaving the Giants with a hefty dead cap hit and no answers at quarterback in his wake. The team is at the ground floor of yet another rebuild, and it’s possible Mara wants to give a new brain trust the reins as he starts from square one.