Giants Country

Report: Giants Ownership “Really Wants to Stay the Course” with Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll

But Giants ownership will need some convincing from both men to keep them.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, GM Joe Schoen, Giants head coach Brian Daboll, and co-owner John Mara.
New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, GM Joe Schoen, Giants head coach Brian Daboll, and co-owner John Mara. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
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When the New York Giants hired Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll in January 2022 to be the team’s 22nd head coach just a few weeks after hiring Daboll’s former co-worker in Buffalo, Joe Schoen, as the team’s general manager, team co-owner John Mara expressed hope of having finally stabilized the team’s leadership for the first time since two-time Super Bowl winning head coach Tom Coughlin resigned his post after the 2015 season.

SI.com’s Albert Breer reported in his latest MMQB column that that is still Mara's hope. This sentiment remains consistent with what Mara conveyed to reporters back in late October during a screening of “The Duke,” which honored his late father and team patriarch, Wellington Mara, as part of the franchise’s 100th anniversary celebration. 

Despite what has transpired since–the cutting of quarterback Daniel Jones, the injuries, and the struggles by the Daboll-led offense to score points, at least until Week 17’s 45-point scoring eruption that helped the Giants rise from the 32nd-ranked scoring offense to 31st--there is a feeling around 1925 Giants Drive that starting all over again without giving Schoen and Daboll to pick their quarterback, would not necessarily be the way to go.

But Mara, who is the more visible media presence among the team’s ownership group, 50% of which includes Steve Tisch, is also not blind to what has transpired over the last two seasons since the Giants shocked the world in 2022 with a 9-7-1 record that earned Daboll “Coach of the Year” honors after he took the franchise back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Since then, the Giants haven’t come close to replicating that success. Schoen has taken a hardline business approach that has bled leadership assembled during predecessor Dave Gettleman’s four years as general manager, a gross misjudgment of the locker room chemistry, and the culture he and Daboll often speak about being so important.

Daboll, meanwhile, believed that he could get more out of the offense than offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who called the plays for the first two seasons. 

But unlike Kafka, who appeared to squeeze every last drop of juice out of Jones, Daboll couldn’t achieve the same results, only winning his third game of the season this past weekend–twice as many as what the team won last year with a historically bad offensive line and a rash of injuries.

Despite all this, numerous reports have said that ownership has not made a decision about how to proceed.  

Breer reports that Mara and Tisch will soon meet with Schoen and Daboll to discuss their plan to fix the franchise, which has arguably reached new lows at different times this season. 

After hearing their plan, the two co-owners, whom Breer (like others) has said are not viewing Schoen and Daboll as a package deal, will decide who stays and who goes.  

Daboll has deflected questions about his job security, and Schoen has not spoken publicly since the bye week. Mara has also refused to answer reporters' questions about his thought process.

The Giants, meanwhile, continue to do in-depth work into this year's quarterbacks class, with Breer reporting that the team has sent their high-level executives to scout seven quarterbacks so far, including Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), Cam Ward (Miami), Carson Beck (Georgia), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Nussemeir having already decided to forgo the 2025 draft to stay in school.

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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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