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State of NY Giants: Truth and consequences of job security for Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll

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State of NY Giants: Truth and consequences of job security for Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll

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EAST RUTHERFORD – When Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll got here, they were being hired by the New York Giants as a general manager and head coach in the NFL for the first time. Their assignment: rebuild what had become one of the worst products in the NFL, and the challenge was obvious to all involved, from top to bottom.

In stunning fashion, the Giants won nine regular season games and a playoff game in Year 1 when, if you recall, the stated goal of that season from ownership was supposed to be the year to evaluate and reorganize the organization.

A season and a half later, the Giants are 2-8. They have failed to come close to that standard established in the first year of the Schoen and Daboll regime. On the heels of Sunday’s 20-17 overtime loss to Carolina in Germany, the fifth straight for Big Blue, there are again questions of job security and the direction of the team.

There have also been suggestions that, for Schoen and Daboll, their time is up, despite a vote of confidence from co-owner John Mara last month. It’s worth pointing out that, under the guise that the Giants are nowhere near where they expect to be in the standings, revisionist history is being used against them, and the takes are disingenuous.

Yes, this wouldn’t be the first time in the NFL – or the first time for the Giants, of course – if a GM or HC had the rug pulled out from under them prematurely because of emotion and a shortsighted view of what the timetable should have been.

But there’s a lot at play here. How the Giants respond to perception when everyone in their building knows what the reality was when Schoen and Daboll took over, and how far from that they truly are right now despite the record.

Schoen will meet the media Tuesday in a news conference, typically scheduled for the bye week as per the NFL media policy. Questions will be asked. The answers sought will likely not be provided in the manner with which some hope.

This will be Schoen’s opportunity to offer his own defense for where the Giants are, his chance to provide a reminder of where they were, and perhaps most importantly where they believe they are going.

From a fan perspective: If you are paying for this product, you have every right to be angry at co-owners Mara and Steve Tisch and, quite frankly, all decision makers involved.

This State of the Giants column will be as genuine and agenda-free as possible, knowing full well I can’t please everyone. Having covered this team for more than a decade, I can unequivocally say that this team is not a mess compared to past messes.

Pull the plug again and feed into how the league views the Giants: no patience and reactionary.

You’d be punishing this regime for what transpired in the aftermath of the best season since Super Bowl XLVI, their first. But go ahead if that makes you feel better. It’s not the cure-all solution, however.

Schoen and Daboll are not perfect, but they are not the sole cause for the circumstances the Giants find themselves facing, both in and out of their control. They’re accountable for the perceived regression, but accountability does not always mean losing their jobs.

That’s counter to how the Giants have operated since 2015 when Tom Coughlin abruptly exited the franchise, and how the fan base and the media covering the team has been conditioned to react. Admittedly, it’s unfortunate.

A first-time GM in Schoen – who was one of the top candidates on the market – and a first-time head coach in Daboll – who was one of the top candidates on the market – are going to be given a maximum of three years to turn around what was considered the worst situation created by someone who was widely panned as the worst GM in the NFL.

Read that again. Makes no sense.

Who would want to take these jobs with the Giants next? Seriously. And there was concern about the Giants getting the top candidates if Joe Judge remained the head coach after 2021?

It’s in the Giants’ best interest to move past this chapter of having Daniel Jones as their quarterback — because of the plays he makes, and even more so, because of the plays he doesn’t. One loss in Germany only magnified that reality.

The Giants don’t have a quarterback for 2025 and yet some believe Bill Belichick will sprinkle his hoodie magic and fix it because everything went great the last time he had to find a quarterback and build a roster after overseeing and making every call that contributed to the end of a dynasty. Oh, that’s right, it didn’t work.

Daboll was non-committal on Jones’ status on Monday and whether he will be the starting quarterback post-bye. He promised they’ll be evaluating the entire team, but we all know the position Jones holds carries the most weight.

The Giants’ decision as to whether they will bench Jones has layers – you can’t just flip Jones and Drew Lock and keep DeVito at emergency QB. The move has gotten past the injury guarantee of $23 million, but that still exists.

Would be so Giants over the past decade if Jones ultimately got hurt as the backup.

Why would a new GM and HC combo come here with no QB, no stability and no promise of patience if the plug was going to get pulled in Year 3? Not the best candidates, that’s for sure.

The mess stirred up at numerous levels of the Giants’ organization by former GM Dave Gettleman isn’t an excuse.

But Gettleman’s four years and what was left behind both on the field, the shape of the roster and salary cap, and internally within the franchise, created the reality Schoen and Daboll inherited and had to rebuild out from under.

They accepted that reality. You should, too.

Dexter Lawrence is the best player at his position in the NFL. Sure, Gettleman drafted him – but who hired the position coach that helped Lawrence take the leap from solid to above average run stopper as a 3-technique to a dominant nose who could move up and down the line and is now elite? Lawrence gets the most credit, but it’s fair to wonder if he takes that leap without defensive line coach Andre Patterson’s presence. Daboll did.

And who signed him to a long-term extension? Schoen did.

Daboll and Schoen deserve credit for that. Because that is the best player development for the Giants in 10 years.

Brian Burns has been the second best player on the Giants this season and it’s not close. He’s a cornerstone at age 26. The investment will pay dividends. Schoen made that call.

The underplayed storyline with the Giants this season, and it is what it is because of everything else that has gone wrong: Schoen’s rationale for not re-signing Saquon Barkley got them rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. and moving forward, it was the right call for this team and its future.

We all bring up the Bill Parcells line to assess a team’s success or failure, and rightfully so: You are what your record says you are. That’s accurate, and there is no hiding from the 17-26-1 since Schoen and Daboll arrived.

Six of the Giants’ 10 games this season have been decided by one score.

The Giants are playing a lot of young players, including a start to their careers by the best rookie class for the franchise since 2007. That may sound like hyperbole and premature, but there is reason for hope. The offensive line struggled one week after Andrew Thomas landed on injured reserve, but unlike last season, the unit has not imploded.

Schoen and Daboll have made mistakes. Those mistakes should not cost them their jobs halfway through Year 3, and that’s under normal circumstances.

Then, when you consider where this team was, it’s reasonable to argue they need more time to see how this plays out.

Don’t forget how daunting the challenge was when they accepted the job of remaking the Giants.

History matters. Obviously, so does the future.

Where the present fits in that timeline for Schoen and Daboll is something we all need to be honest about.

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