Giants Begin Second Round of GM Interviews Starting with Joe Schoen

Joe Schoen, who was widely believed to be one of the favorite candidates to land as the Giants' new general manager, made the initial cut to the second round of interviews per multiple reports and was scheduled to meet with the Giants ownership team Tuesday.

Schoen, the Buffalo Bills assistant general manager, appears to have impressed team ownership during the initial interviews, which were more or less "getting to know you" types of meetings. In the second round of interviews, the chosen candidates will be asked to expand upon plans to help bring a Giants franchise that has sunk to near the bottom of the league record-wise back into relevancy.

Schoen, who has served as Bills general manager Brandon Beane's right-hand man for over five seasons, certainly has experience in that regard. Together, Schoen (pronounced "Shane") and Beane and their team have built the Bills from a struggling franchise into a playoff-caliber team that just this past weekend dominated the New England Patriots 47-17 in the AFC Wild Card round.

There won't be much time for whoever is hired as the new Giants general manager to ease into the job. Here's a look at just a few of the most pressing things on the successful candidate's to-do list.

The Giants need to get the coaching situation right once and for all so that the players can get into a groove with having the same voices helping their development.

When's the draft? When does free agency begin? We've got the answers right here.

The Giants will have a new head coach and general manager whose first task will be determining which core players to retain. Coach Gene Clemons offers up his list of just a few who will likely be part of the new regime's inaugural year.

Over the last five seasons, the Bills have been to the playoffs three times, last year losing the AFC Conference Championship to the Chiefs. The Bills have also posted double-digit wins in three straight seasons, going 34-15 over that period.

Perhaps most impressive about the Bills is that they built a powerhouse offense. Buffalo has scored 984 points in the last two seasons with Josh Allen as their quarterback. By contrast, the Giants offense scored just 538 points over two seasons, 218 of those points (40.5 percent) by kicker Graham Gano.

Schoen, who has a strong background in player personnel that stems back to his days in Miami, could be looking to bring with him Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as his head coach to whatever team he lands with as the general manager.

Last week, Giants co-owner John Mara said that the general manager and head coach don't necessarily have to be a package deal. Still, with some of the other teams in need of a new head coach already well into their head coaching searches, Schoen, if chosen, could lean on what he knows.

In addition to Schoen, Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles is getting a second interview with the team, per the NFL Network. It's not immediately known when poles will meet with the Giants' ownership brass.

#Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles is expected to have a second interview for the #Giants GM job, per sources.

So, that makes two finalists in New York: #Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen and Poles, who also was a finalist in Carolina a year ago.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 18, 2022

The Giant, who have reportedly narrowed down their nine-member candidate list to 3-4 persons, could wrap up their general manager search by the weekend.

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