He expects to
Joe Schoen offered a simple, declarative “Yes” when he was asked during his bye week press conference on Tuesday if he expected to be retained as New York Giants general manager after this season.
“I communicate with ownership all the time. I know Dabs [head coach Brian Daboll] talks about that continuously each time these questions come up,” Schoen said. “And we have a really good relationship with ownership, and we communicate constantly with them. And there’s confidence in the plan and where we’re heading.”
Should Schoen get a fourth season to continue trying to build the Giants? Vote in the poll below and let us know how you feel about that?
“We’re not far off” Schoen said on Tuesday.
His argument despite the Giants’ 2-8 record this season, and their 6-11 mark in 2023, is that there is a good nucleus of young players and a good group of young-ish veteran leaders in place. That the Giants, 1-5 in one-score games, could be in a much different place this season had they made a couple of plays in at least some of those games.
“We have 19 of 22 starters under contract for next year. I believe it’s 41 players on the 53 (man roster). So, there is a young nucleus of players here, and some veterans, that are going be together,” Schoen said. “We’re finally in a position where there will be some continuity year over year.
“I’m excited about the young players that we have. The build’s tough. It hurts sometimes as you’re going through it. But, you got to go through it to get to the other side. I like the young foundation that we’ve put in place ... There’s some young pieces here in place in terms of the foundation that we’re going to continue to build on. Another year of free agency and another draft, we’re not far off. We’re not far off.”
In my view, Schoen — and by extension Daboll — should be given more time. Both the GM and head coach have made mistakes, but the 2024 rookie class is outstanding and it’s hard to argue that the overall talent on the roster and the organizational structure have not improved since 2022.
While there are other issues, finding a difference-making quarterback remains the biggest one. And the toughest one to solve. The next seven games might change my mind, but right now I believe the GM and coach deserve a chance to try and identify and develop that quarterback.
What, though, do you think? Vote in the poll below.