Giants Country

Analyst: Giants Missed the Mark with GM/Head Coaching Decision

According to PFN's Sterling Xie, the Giants are taking a risk with their decision. Here's why.

Patricia Traina

Oct 28, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara looks on before the Giants play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
Oct 28, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara looks on before the Giants play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Under normal circumstances, any NFL team that keeps its general manager and head coach combination intact after the season should be in the “winners” column.

But Sterling Xie of Pro Football Network argues that the New York Giants, who retained general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll despite the franchise’s coming off its worst won-loss record in franchise history and since the 17-game schedule was implemented, belong firmly in the “loser” column.

Xie’s argument stems from team COO John Mara’s statements, in which, despite pledging his belief in the plan Schoen and Daboll presented to him and business partner Steve Tisch, he still appeared to have some doubts regarding the roster's state and whether it was any better.

“I’m not sure I am all that confident that it’s that much better,” Mara admitted when asked about the progress made since Schoen and Daboll were hired in 2022.

For someone who also believes in the plan, which, given the state of the Giants roster, probably isn’t a one-year fix, Mara, who said that the rebuild “better not take too long because I’ve just about run out of patience,” also seemed reluctant to commit to anything long term. 

“We’re going to have to see,” he said when asked if Daboll and Schoen are on the hot seat next year. “I’m going to have to be in a better mood this time next year than I am right now.”  

Xie’s interpretation of what Mara said and didn’t say led him to conclude that Schoen and Daboll are both on a short leash. Therefore, he believes the Giants ownership duo might have made an error in their judgment.   

“Frankly, it’s almost never productive to retain a coach and general manager with this short of a leash,” Xie wrote. 

“For a recent parallel, consider the case of the 2021 Bears. The Bears had a surprising playoff appearance in Matt Nagy’s first season in 2018 but strung together two straight disappointing years that had many expecting the team to move on from Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace.

“Instead, Nagy and Pace were given an extra year, leading to the team drafting first-round quarterback Justin Fields. Injecting a young quarterback into a dysfunctional system resulted in a 6-11 record, both Nagy and Pace being fired, and Fields failing to develop amid a toxic environment with too much turnover.”

Xie makes a valid point that with ownership having committed to Schoen and Daboll, they have to stick with the duo, especially if they draft a young quarterback in April. 

While Xie points to the Bears as the most recent example of a team that got it wrong, Mara and Tisch need only look back to 2019 when Pat Shurmur, then the head coach, hand-picked Daniel Jones to be the next franchise quarterback but was not retained to continue overseeing Jones’s development. 

The ensuing revolving door of head coaches and offensive coordinators did Jones no favors in his development, something Mara even acknowledged when Daboll was announced as the new head coach in 2022.

Of course, if the Giants plan is to roll with a veteran bridge quarterback instead, that could lessen any pressure to allow Schoen and Daboll to continue building up the roster. That said, if the Giants continue to be stuck in neutral or reverse, the status quo will no longer be justified. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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