3 Burning Questions Giants Must Answer within First 60 Days of 2026

Before even getting to which players to add, these are the biggest questions the Giants need to answer within the first 60 days of the new year.

New York Giants co-owners Steve Tisch (left) and John Mara have some critical decisions to make regarding the franchise's direction. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2025 regular season is finally and mercifully coming to an end for the New York Giants. Once the game clock strikes 0:00 at the end of the fourth quarter, the real challenge for the Giants will begin.

That challenge will be ownership’s decision regarding the direction of the franchise. 

Embattled general manager Joe Schoen looks as though he will be retained, though remember that during the last shakeup at the top, it looked like then-head coach Joe Judge was going to be retained until he wasn’t.

While we wait for that first domino to fall, here is a look at some of the biggest questions facing the Giants this offseason.

Extend or Status Quo?

The status of New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is one of the first dominoes that needs to be put in place. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Assuming the Giants do retain Schoen–and again, that appears to be the direction things are heading as of this moment–there becomes a question of whether to extend his contract and if so, for how long.

Schoen, when hired in 2022, was given a five-year deal, meaning 2026 is the final year of that original pact. Giants ownership has been conscientious of never letting a head coach or general manager enter a season as a “lame duck,” and the thinking is that if they do indeed stick with Schoen, he’ll get a modest extension to remove that “lame duck” status.

But in all honesty, extending Schoen would be nothing more than window dressing. If, after hiring a new head coach, the team continues to struggle to make progress, ownership can just as easily move on from Schoen, even though they’d owe him money if he were to receive an extension.

What might be something to watch is the status of Brandon Brown, the team’s assistant general manager. If the Giants do decide to move on from Schoen, would they consider promoting Brown to the role? 

Brown has drawn interest around the league for vacant general manager jobs, but this year, it doesn’t appear there will be a lot of those openings. 

Brown also comes from the Howie Roseman/Philadelphia Eagles tree, which would make him an intriguing option if Schoen is not retained. 

While only those inside the Giants building know what ownership intends to do–and again, it does appear that Schoen will be retained–if Schoen is not retained and ownership wants to maintain a degree of “stability,” promoting Brown to the GM’s chair makes a lot of sense.  

The Next Head Coach

Who will be named head coach of the New York Giants? | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

According to ESPN, Schoen, who is leading the Giants search for the next head coach, put together an extensive candidate list that includes up-and-coming coordinators (Chris Shula of the Rams, Jeff Haflley of the Packers)head coaching retreads (Mike McCarthy and Vance Joseph), and guys with previous ties to the organization (Antonio Pierce, Mike Kafka, and Lou Anarumo).

While it’s important to have options, having too many can lead to paralysis by analysis. 

It’s important that the team’s ownership, which will ultimately decide who gets the job, has a firm list of qualities they want in their next head coach.

And at the top of that list should be finding someone who can not only build a winner through establishing culture, find the right staff, and manage the Xs and Os, but most important of all: finding someone who not only has a solid vision for the team but also a plan to make it happen. 

Locker Room Cleanse

The Giants have this bad habit of hanging onto players who were premium draft picks, even if they no longer fit into the plan.

Offensive lineman Evan Neal and receiver Jalin Hyatt, a first and third-round pick, are two examples that come to mind. Cornerback Deonte Banks, also a first-round pick, is another. 

Perhaps hanging onto them was a matter of stubbornness in refusing to admit to having made a mistake. Or maybe it was a case of “you never know” when you’ll need them.

The New York Giants will finally move on from failed first-round draft pick Evan Neal. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Whatever the case, this continued clinging to guys who turn out to be mistakes has hurt the roster-building process, as those spots wasted on them could have easily gone to someone else who might have helped the team during the season. 

The other part of the locker room cleanse has to be moving on from active contracts that no longer carry any value, yes, even if it means adding dead money to their current total of just $216,804.

Among those contracts that are likely to be purged from the books either via a release or potential trade include: 

• Kicker Graham Gano ($4.5 million savings, $1.25 million dead money)
• Offensive tackle James Hudson III ($5.5 million savings, $2.305 million dead money)
• Receiver Jalin Hyatt ($1.517 million savings, $272,785 dead money)
• Running Back Devin Singletary ($5.35 million savings, $1.25 million dead money)

Final Thoughts

The Giants' roster, in itself, has some pieces in place to turn things around in 2026. Still, the biggest deficiency right now isn’t necessarily a receiver, a cornerback, or a linebacker: it’s leadership. 

Besides putting the right people in place, the Giants need those people to make the tough decisions that have fallen by the wayside. Then, and only then, will the other pieces start to fall into place, hopefully yielding better results in years to come. 

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