Giants GM Joe Schoen Reveals Key Roster Building Lesson He's Learned

Schoen gets another chance to continue building up the Giants roster.

Jul 23, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen talks with media during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Despite being given another mulligan from team ownership, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen can’t be considered exempt from the mistakes that doomed yet another season filled with hope.

But what Schoen can do–and he’ll be allowed to do so now that he’s returning for a fifth season to continue adding to the young core of talent already in place–is to be smarter.

“Early on, I made mistakes,” he said Monday afternoon. “I'm fortunate to have great ownership here where you're allowed to stub your toe and try to course correct.” 

One of the biggest mistakes Schoen intends to avoid is acquiring scheme-specific players that meet a coach’s criteria. 

A perfect example of such a mistake is cornerback Deonte Banks, who, coming out of Maryland, was touted as a press-man cover cornerback, a role that fit what Wink Martindale, the defensive coordinator at the time, wanted.

But when Martindale and the Giants went through an ugly divorce, and Shane Bowen was hired, suddenly Banks began to struggle in Bowen’s zone-heavy scheme, raising concerns that he was another one in a long line of premium draft pick busts.

Schoen doesn’t intend to make the same mistakes moving forward. 

“When you draft players or sign players, you want them to be versatile schematically,” he said. “Because, as we see today and previously, coaches come and go. It's just the reality of it. 

“So guilty of drafting a scheme-specific player before and then coaches come and go, and then maybe those decisions don't work out.”

Looking at the roster, Schoen believes many of the team's pieces fit into that versatility mold. And those who don’t will be Giants this time next year.

What about his future?

New York Giants owner John Mara, left, and New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The question, though, is whether Schoen will be with the team this time next year. The general manager enters the fifth and final year of his contract in 2026 with an organization whose ownership does not let head coaches or general managers enter a season as a lame duck.

Schoen, however, declined to say whether he received an extension. 

“As you've seen today, unfortunately, like the business, I'm not sure how much it really matters how many years you have on your contract or not, but I'm not going to get into my personal situation there.”

The next head coach

What Schoen is going to focus on is getting the search for the next head coach underway, after weeks of research and candidate vetting.

“We're going to cast a wide net, and there's no directive that it has to be an offensive guy or defensive guy or special teams or college or whatever it may be, having head coaching experience previously,” he said. “We are going to find the best leader for the franchise.”

Schoen believes that regardless of his status, there will be high interest in the Giants’ coaching job. 

“There are pieces in place that also make this an attractive job. Looking at where we're going, where the build is, what the plan is moving forward, and seeing the vision through is why I think that's the case,” he said.

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