Giants owners support Joe Schoen due to 'modernization' of franchise

The New York Giants recently fired head coach Brian Daboll after three-and-a-half seasons, which began with so much promise. Daboll's 20-40-1 record and mismanagement of many aspects of the team were no longer sustainable.

The ownership team of John Mara and Steve Tisch made the call, not general manager Joe Schoen.

Schoen and Daboll were hired together in 2022, and they had immediate success, taking the Giants to the postseason with a 9-7-1 record and even winning a playoff game. Daboll was named the NFL's Coach of the Year as a result. Things were looking up.

But the wheels came off the wagon shortly after that. The Giants went into a major backslide, going 9-25 over the next two seasons and then opening this year with a 2-8 record that prompted the change.

Daboll had to go, but Schoen got another reprieve. He not only got to keep his job, but ownership put him in charge of finding the new head coach. Many felt this was a mistake, but some believe it was the right move.

Long-time Giants beat reporter Ralph Vacchiano mapped out why staying the course with Schoen is the right move.

"It takes time to build a program," a former NFL general manager told Vacchiano. "Nobody wants to hear that anymore, but it’s still true. We used to say it takes at least five years to really see what a GM can do, to really have his program in place. And sometimes it takes at least one coaching change, too... If you’re starting over every three or four years, you end up absolutely nowhere."

The Giants have been spinning their wheels ever since sending Tom Coughlin packing after the 2015 season. They are on their third general manager and sixth head coach in 10 years, and have lost 10 or more games in 10 of their last 12 seasons.

Things aren't any better since Schoen took over, but the general public simply didn't know how far the Giants had fallen since Ernie Accorsi handed the GM reins over to Jerry Reese in 2007. Yes, the Giants won two Super Bowls over the next five years, but the foundation underneath them was beginning to crumble.

"I don't think people outside realize how far this franchise had sunk when Joe first got here," a Giants team source told Vacchiano. "I know fans don't want to hear about improvements to the infrastructure or modernization of the scouting department. But that stuff matters. So does the salary cap. And when he arrived, we were absolutely in 'cap hell.'

"It's just a more professional, modern, better operation now. I know fans don’t care, but it's important."

The 46-year-old Schoen has taken the Giants' stodgy franchise into the 21st Century, but they've gone kicking and screaming. The team is now fully Schoen's after four drafts and four free agency periods, but Vacchiano reports the outside view of the Giants remains mixed.

In conversations with a half-dozen league sources, opinions of the Giants roster ranged from "promising" and "a strong group of young players" to "overrated" and "fool’s gold."

One rival GM told me, "I think there’s a lot to work with there. They’re in every game. They look like they’ve got the quarterback. He’s got weapons and protection. And most of us would take that defensive line. I could build a winner around that."

But another rival executive took the opposite view: "I think they’re fooling themselves. They keep saying there’s a lot of promise there, but when exactly are they going to see it? The only thing promise gets you in this business is fired at the end of the year."

The hiring of the next head coach will be the determining factor for Schoen to continue in his role in East Rutherford. Some are favoring interim head coach Mike Kafka, a perennial figure on the offseason coaching carousel who will end up a head coach somewhere soon. Others see an outsider as the solution.

The Giants have gone the "hot coordinator" route the past four hiring cycles. It might be time to change that. An experienced coach could be the right fit here.

"Someone who’s done it before," a team source told Vacchiano. "Someone who doesn’t have to learn on the job. Someone with that established, commanding presence."

"And it doesn’t have to be a guy who has won somewhere else," a former NFL GM added. "Just find a guy who had a little success, learned some lessons, and just needs a chance to apply them. Sometimes those second-chance guys can be a real steal."

Who that person is right now is unknown, but Schoen is expected to conduct a wide search for the right man. Whoever it is has to win almost right away, as there's a lot of bad football to bury in North Jersey.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants owners support Joe Schoen due to 'modernization' of franchise