Giants Country

NFL Insider Offers Opinion on Direction Giants Will Take After Season

Will New York Giants ownership repeat the mistakes of the past?

Patricia Traina

New York Giants executive vice president Steve Tisch (right) and president John K. Mara.
New York Giants executive vice president Steve Tisch (right) and president John K. Mara. / Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images
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Is change coming to 1925 Giants Drive? That’s what the New York Giants fan base would like to see after the leadership duo of head coach Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen put together and coached a roster that is on its way to historic lows in the franchise’s 100 years of existence.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic, on a recent episode of the Scoop City podcast, said she believes there is a world in which ownership retains Schoen but dismisses Daboll.

“I've talked to people around the league who believe that Joe Schoen is going to be safe,” Russini told co-host Chase Daniels on the podcast.

Daniels seemed flabbergasted by Russini’s statement, pointing out that Schoen assembled the roster and is just as much to blame for the Giants’ regression since going 9-7-1 in the first year of this regime.

Russini, who pointed out that she doesn’t believe Giants team ownership views Schoen and Daboll as a package deal, believes that team ownership should not split them up. 

“They came in as a tandem. They've sold themselves as a duo. Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. How do you fire one and not the other?” she said.  

“If (ownership) is gonna say, ‘All right, the play is not good enough. All right, Brian, you, you have not had these guys ready. You're fired. But Joe Schoen, you're fine.’ 

“No! Joe Schoen gave Brian Daboll the roster, and Brian Daboll coached that roster. If the success was not had on the field, if I'm ownership, I'm looking at it as, ‘Together you go.’”

Russini stressed that, as far as she was aware, Mara and Tisch have not made any final decisions. 

“What do we know about decisions in life? Usually, if you're thinking about it, usually if you're already taking your mind there, you wanna do it. So you might as well just do it,” she said

Schoen and Daboll have always presented themselves as a tandem–they hold major press conferences together and are, for the most part, in step when it comes to roster decisions.

By keeping Schoen and not Daboll, the Giants could put themselves in a position where the top head coaching candidates and assistants avoid the organization. 

With the Giants getting ready to launch a new era of football headed by a franchise quarterback, the last thing they need to do is put themselves at any disadvantage by trying to sell to a head coaching candidate that Schoen isn’t on notice for the next season or two if the roster doesn’t start to improve.

More importantly, Mara and Tisch need only look at the team’s recent history, when they split the general manager and head coach’s timelines, which led to the revolving door of head coaches they’ve had since.

Mara told reporters back in October that he didn’t anticipate making a chance at either spot, but that was several losses and two banner-towing airplanes ago.

He is not believed to want to make a change, but with each embarrassing loss piling up, it’s becoming harder to justify keeping the status quo. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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