After months of speculation about the future of Joe Schoen, the New York Giants announced they signed their long-time general manager to a multi-year extension.
Entering the final year of his contract, there was speculation that the Giants and new steward John Harbaugh would allow Schoen to finish out the year before finding a new GM that aligns with their head coach’s vision for the team.
Instead, Schoen seems to have passed his offseason test, and New York awarded him with some long-term security.
General manager contract details aren’t usually disclosed, so it’s unclear just how many years Schoen is signed for.
But one thing is for certain: he’s not going anywhere for the time being.
Offseason Speculation About Joe Schoen’s Job Security
It wasn’t long ago that there were reports that the New York Giants were considering firing their general manager almost immediately after the NFL Draft.
The New York Daily News’ Pat Leonhard, appearing on CBS’s post-draft show, revealed that he had been hearing rumblings that Schoen’s days were numbered.
“This has been on kind of the back burner because of the excitement of the players that the Giants are going to be addressing and adding and stacking to John Harbaugh’s new team. But you talk to people in the league, it feels like anything’s on the board right now, there are people in the NFL who think Joe Schoen could be fired this week,” Leonard said on-air.
“There are people who think that, based on the positive returns publicly of this draft that maybe he sticks around, but John Harbaugh moves on after the season because this is Joe Schoen’s final year of his current contract.”
Evidently, Leonhard’s sources were dead wrong.
Clearly, Harbaugh and Schoen have built a positive working relationship over the last few months since the organization hired the longtime Baltimore Ravens head coach.
Some fans were hoping that Harbaugh would come in and clean out the organization, Schoen included, due to the amount of losing that has taken place under the general managers’ supervision.
It’s a fair criticism. Schoen’s record as GM is a lowly 22-45-1. But maybe with a new head coach in tow, he’ll be able to start stacking more wins and start flipping that record in the right direction.
Have Joe Schoen’s Responsibilities Changed?
Along with speculation about a firing, there were also rumors that Schoen had lost some power within the New York Giants organization.
After Harbaugh was brought in as the de facto CEO of the team, one of his first moves was to bring in former NFL executive Dawn Aponte as Senior Vice President of Football Operations & Strategy.
While Schoen retains the title of general manager, there was a question about whether or not he had lost some decision-making power.
It was almost as if Schoen had been relegated to head of scouting, while Harbaugh and Aponte handled pro personnel decisions.
The Giants organization did its best to push back on those narratives, and the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz reported in February that Schoen’s responsibilities had not changed.
There’s no way to know for sure, but after the extension news, it’s safe to say Schoen’s standing within the building is secure for the foreseeable future.
Giants Make Feelings Clear on GM Joe Schoen With Multi-Year Decision