One of the biggest changes for the Buffalo Bills heading into the 2022 NFL season is their staff. After Joe Schoen, one of Buffalo’s longtime top executives accepted a new job as the New York Giants‘ general manager, the Bills’ former offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, joined him as the team’s new head coach.
Schoen was the Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane’s first hire after he took over operations in 2017. The 42-year-old, who previously served as a national scout for the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers, was a vital contributor to Buffalo’s growth over the past five years and part of the franchise-changing decision to select quarterback Josh Allen as the team’s No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
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Going from Buffalo, the team with the highest odds to win the Super Bowl this season, to the Giants, a team that CBS Sports analyst Cody Benjamin ranked as the 29th worst team in the NFL — the new gig was always going to be an uphill journey.
While the bulk of analysts have praised Schoen for doing what he could with the hot mess left behind by former general manager Dave Gettleman, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan was highly critical of certain moves he’s made on defense:
It wasn’t possible for GM Joe Schoen to fill all of the Giants’ holes in his first offseason. But Schoen created holes in the secondary by releasing cornerback James Bradberry and safety Logan Ryan. The secondary is now a major concern.
The Giants will be relying on 2021 third-round pick Aaron Robinson, who was drafted to play in the slot, to replace Bradberry. Julian Love, who has been a utilityman in his first three seasons, will be expected to take over for Ryan. New defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s man-coverage-heavy system puts a lot of pressure on the secondary. That could make for a long season if the unproven replacements don’t step up.
Schoen & Daboll Have the Full Support of Giants Owner John Mara
It still overjoys me that the New York Giants employ Joe Schoen as general manager and Brian Daboll as head coach. #TogetherBlue
Schoen had no choice but to release Bradberry due to limited cap space, but letting go of Ryan, a defensive team captain who re-signed with the Giants on a three-year, $31 million contract last offseason, was met with mixed reactions.
Not only did the team eat $11.45 million in dead money from his release, but Jabrill Pepper’s subsequent exit to follow Joe Judge to the New England Patriots means the “Giants’ secondary as a whole is much weaker than it was in 2021,” SB Nationa’s Nick Falato wrote on July 6.
However, for any team needing “to hit the reset button,” as team president, CEO, and co-owner, John Mara said back in January, expectations should be tempered. In working toward a successful rebuild, Mara said he trusts Daboll and Schoen to make the right moves.
While Mara’s brother and nephew have major roles in the Giants front office, “The personnel decisions have always been made and will always be made by the general manager and the head coach,” Mara said. “If they agree on a draft pick, on a UFA, then I’m gonna OK it 99.9% of the time. The only time I will raise an issue about it is if there is a conduct issue.”
How Allen Will Perform Without Daboll & How the Giants Coach Will Fare Without Allen Is Up for Debate
GettyJosh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills talks to offensive coordinator Brian Daboll during training camp at Highmark Stadium on July 31, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York.
While Schoen will be given time to prove his success as a general manager considering the current state of the Giants, the discussion over how Daboll will fare as head coach without an elite quarterback like Allen leading the team, and vice versa, became a hot topic of debate on Twitter.
Pro Football Focus analyst Sam Monson tweeted on June 16, “If Josh Allen never happened, Brian Daboll’s resume looks verrrrry different. & I think it’s pretty unclear who or what was primarily responsible for Allen’s development. This is a downer of a tweet, but just struck me today looking through his career.”
NFL Draft analyst Joe Marino believes the credit goes beyond just Allen and Daboll. Marino tweeted, “Boring response but I believe the person most responsible for Josh Allen’s growth is Josh Allen. He embraced the areas he needed to get better and made it happen. Daboll, McDermott, Beane and Jordan Palmer deserve plenty of credit but Josh himself gets the most credit IMO.”
A Cover 1 sports host used an outside example in his arugment. He tweeted, “If Tom Brady never happened, Bill Belichick’s resume looks verrrrry different. & I think it’s pretty unclear who or what was primarily responsible for Brady’s development. This is a downer of a tweet, but just struck me today looking through his career.”
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Ex-Bills Executive Faces Early Criticism as Giants GM: ‘Major Concern’