Big Blue View
Jeffrey Jacobs asks: Hope you were able to enjoy a Giants-free weekend. I have another Joe Schoen question. Could you give us a peak behind the curtain as to how the Giants divide responsibilities between Schoen and his assistant GM Brandon Brown? What exactly does the Assistant GM do – is he like the Vice President who basically sits around and waits for the President to give him a task, or does he have a specific area of responsibility? While watching the train wreck that was ‘Hard Knocks’ last year, I came away impressed with Brown and have thought that if/when Schoen gets fired the Giants might just promote Brown to the top spot which would insure some level of continuity (arguably that might not be as good thing, but that’s a whole other question). I do feel that Joe Schoen needs to go, with his biggest failure being an almost criminal lack of depth on the roster – as soon as a starter goes down, that unit is basically doomed.
Ed says: Jeffrey, I don’t know the nitty-gritty details of what Brown does every day. I know that when Schoen was hired by the Giants he credited Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane with preparing him for the job by letting him on every aspect of it, not hiding any information from him or keeping him from learning every piece of the GM role. He promised to do the same for Brown.
When he was hired, Brown described his job this way:
With the Giants, Brown described his job in two words: “football solutions.”
“It’s overseeing the pro personnel department, the college scouting department and also just being the checks and balances with Joe on the football operations side,” Brown said.
Brown takes part in all of the major decision-making discussions. He makes a lot of scouting trips, sometimes with Schoen and sometimes without him. He has a voice in everything, he just doesn’t get to make any of the final decisions.
Dennis Norton asks: If the decision is made to replace Joe Schoen, why not Brandon Brown? Brown has interviewed for other GM positions in the past and is seen as an up and comer. Brown’s elevation would not disrupt the this year’s scouting process and would provide for an easier transition to a new regime. I realize the argument against Brown is that he may be part of the problem. However, his experience as Assistant GM and time spent with the Eagles lead me to believe that his time has come. Elevate him and let him be part of the process to hire a new Coach. Your thoughts?
Ed says: Dennis, that is a natural question. Brown has gotten some interviews for other general manager openings.
You actually, though, answered your own question. We don’t know how much influence Brown has had on many of the biggest decisions that have been made the past few years. What has he agreed with? What has...
