Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll were not a package deal, after all.
Amidst the New York Giants’ announcement that they fired Daboll after three-plus seasons as head coach, co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch revealed that Schoen — the general manager who arrived from Buffalo with Daboll — is not only safe, but he will lead the search for the team’s next head coach.
The decision is a puzzling development considering Schoen constructed a roster that went 3-14 last season and is now off to a 2-8 start in 2025. However, the 46-year-old has hit on recent draft picks, including 2024 first-rounder Malik Nabers, 2025 first-rounders Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter, and fourth-rounder Cam Skattebo.
While Dart looks like he’s the real deal as the franchise quarterback of the future, Nabers and Skattebo are done for the rest of this season due to injuries. Couple that with coaching malpractice from both Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, and the Giants’ 2-8 record could be at least two games different.
It apparently was enough to not only keep his job safe, but keep him firmly entrenched in the organization’s future plans — something that many would have considered unheard of entering this season.
“We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development,” Mara said. “Unfortunately, the results over the past three years have not been what any of us want. We take full responsibility for those results and look forward to the kind of success our fans expect.”
Even with those hits in the draft, Schoen’s track record is shoddy, at best. He drove Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones out of town, and they are starring elsewhere. Barkley’s replacement, Devin Singletary, has been a significant letdown. So was the drafting of offensive lineman Evan Neal seventh overall in 2022 and the first-round selection of cornerback Deonte Banks a year later. There was also the Darren Waller trade that blew up in his face, and the letting go of Xavier McKinney.
The bad has far outweighed the good, but that does not seem to matter.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was named interim head coach upon Daboll’s exit, while Schoen leads the search for the Giants’ next head coach.
