Eli Manning Weighs in on Giants' Retaining Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll

The two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback thinks it’s a smart move by Giants ownership to stay the course with the current regime. 
Oct 13, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants former quarterback Eli Manning on the field before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium.
Oct 13, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants former quarterback Eli Manning on the field before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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In the aftermath of New York Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch’s announcement on Monday that the team would be retaining head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen after a historically bad 3-14 record in the franchise’s 100th season, the reception has largely been negative with only a few shades of optimism.

Most of the Giants loyal yet irritated fanbase had taken the side of wanting the team to at least part ways with one of the two men as a piece of flesh for an embarrassing campaign that featured a 1-8 record at home and one of the league’s most inefficient offenses that struggled to compete on the gridiron almost every Sunday. 

However, Mara, explaining a continued belief in the overarching plan that Schoen and Daboll have for the franchise, and resold to him on Friday with just a little more time needed to achieve results with the roster, is extending his already slim patience and backing his current regime as they shift gears towards an important offseason for them and the organization’s future. 

And while that's not what many in what Mara coined “Giants Land” might want to hear, the sentiment has been joined in by a prominent face that still walks the hallways of 1925 Giants Drive. 

Two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Eli Manning, a Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalist, believes the decision made by team ownership is the right one.   

“You just can’t keep changing it out every two or three years, that’s not the right way,” Manning told host Peter Schraeger on Good Morning Football.   

“You got to give these coaches and these GMs time to create this culture, and three years is just not enough, and that’s just the facts. You’ve got to get your guys in there, give them time to draft, go through free agency, get your quarterback, do all these things.”

To some, the fact that Schoen and Daboll are still standing at this point is quite telling of the mindset shift that has taken place there in East Rutherford. 

None of the Giants’ previous three head coaches—Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, and Joe Judge—made it to Year 3 of their respective tenures, as New York fielded just one winning season (11-5 in 2016 under McAdoo) in that stretch. 

Perhaps the current tandem’s biggest blessing and curse was the 9-7-1 record and postseason berth they clinched in the first year in 2022, a feat that accelerated what was supposed to be a slow and steady rebuild. 

Instead, the Giants early success made them feel compelled to sell their soul to former quarterback Daniel Jones on a four-year contract and try to build around him to return to the chase the following season. 

That gamble failed miserably as the quarterback would fall victim to injuries in 2023 and then flop in the first 10 games of this season to eventually be benched and released just two years into his $160 million deal that had $80 million in guaranteed money and the team still paying him over $11.5 million for his services to go elsewhere.

By committing to Jones, the Giants lost a handful of talented veteran pieces that held the locker room together during the constant losing and it definitely came off a certain way to the players, none more notable in the aftermath of Saquon Barkley leaving the team to sign with the rival Philadelphia Eagles for a more lucrative contract after failing to be tagged for the second time in a row. 

With how uncompetitive the offense was for the span of a historic 10-game losing streak that ended in the penultimate game of the season to kill the Giants’ chances of the No. 1 pick, it felt like the writing was on the wall that Daboll might be the scapegoat and Schoen would be retained to go after the elusive quarterback prospect this spring. 

What seemed to be the beacon of hope for both men was the 2024 rookie class they assembled which turned out to feature some of the best performers in the entire locker room. 

That managed to convince Mara and Tisch that the Giants have a core foundation in place and they’ll have the chance to build on it with heavy pressure on their shoulders in year four. 

But the belief in the executive circles of the organization seems to remain that the Giants, who haven’t won the NFC East division since their Super Bowl run of 2011, aren’t far from contending once again and have the ability to do it with Schoen and Daboll at the helm. 

“You gotta create some sort of continuity and keep things the same, build that culture,” Manning emphasized. 

“And that just takes time. You can't necessarily do it in two or three years. They got off to a great start, making the playoffs in Year One, but now they're in a situation.

"They gotta go find a quarterback, they gotta get a couple of new spots in key positions, and again, they're not far. They have some playmakers that have the superstars on the team, and it's just about getting everybody to buy in and to work together, and finding ways to win some of these tight games.”

It also certainly feels like they will have to win more than just the three games they’ve scraped together this season.

While Mara understands the time that comes with a rebuilding process, he did state to the media his growing impatience as the franchise nears almost 15 years with sniffing out a fifth Super Bowl title. 

His silent declaration for a winning season in 2025 is already setting off alarms for outsiders who think it’ll force Schoen and the front office into spending lavishly in order to create the microwave roster that shines next fall. 

Schoen has said he will not take a “Hail Mary” approach to preserve his fate with the team long-term, but given how he quickly turned the team around when he arrived in 2022, he has a key believer in Manning that it will happen again despite a two-year spiral that has now led to the heat on the seat being tuned up higher.

“I think Brian Daboll, as well as Joe Schoen–they made the playoffs two years ago. He has that ability, he can create that culture and he has that winning attitude, and I’m excited they’re staying and think that they can get this thing going,” Manning said.

“You see it easily in the NFL every year, a team that doesn’t make the playoffs, they’re not in contention and then all of a sudden next year, here they are going through the playoffs this week.”


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Stephen Lebitsch
STEPHEN LEBITSCH

“Stephen Lebitsch is a graduate of Fordham University, Class of 2021, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications (with a minor in Sports Journalism) and spent three years as a staff writer for The Fordham Ram. With his education and immense passion for the space, he is looking to transfer his knowledge and talents into a career in the sports media industry. Along with his work for the FanNation network and Giants Country, Stephen’s stops include Minute Media and Talking Points Sports.