The power dynamic between high-profile new head coach John Harbaugh and beleaguered general manager Joe Schoen will define how quickly the New York Giants can rebuild, so telling comments from Harbs about the GM’s scouting process before the 2026 NFL draft demand attention.
Harbaugh having the final say on personnel matters reflects Schoen’s diminished status after overseeing three losing seasons out of four. So it’s surprising former Baltimore Ravens boss Harbaugh found himself more than pleasantly surprised by how Schoen does things.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Harbaugh revealed, “It’s like, man, these [analysts] are right in the middle of the coaches and the scouts. I’m like, This is what I’ve always wanted to do. And Joe’s already got it set up. This is a beautiful format.”
Those words not only put a more positive spin on the potentially tense working relationship between Harbaugh and Schoen. The comments also speak to Harbaugh’s desire to see cohesion between the different processes underpinning the Giants.
That cohesion must start at the top, and the two chief team-builders offered key insights into how they worked together during the free agency, ahead of the draft.
John Harbaugh Offers Glowing Review of Joe Schoen
Harbaugh’s endorsement of Schoen’s personnel meetings is no faint praise from somebody who spent 18 years with the Ravens. The AFC North franchise is widely regarded as one of the best in the league at handling the draft, and Harbaugh wants the same way of doing things to define his tenure with the Giants.
Breer spoke of Harbaugh wanting analytics, personnel and coaching to work in unison. That will mean Schoen ceding a good amount of influence on and control of the draft strategy to his head coach.
The GM admitted Harbaugh “does more work in the draft than any coach I’ve ever been around. The bar is high with his passion for the draft and the amount of work he does; he’s always learning. And I always want to learn. And, obviously, he’s got a tremendous track record, and he’s been in an organization for the previous 18 years that won a lot of football games. So we have a process in place, but we’re always open to being more efficient. It’s whatever we need to do to get to the endgame.”
Schoen sounds happy enough to let Harbaugh take the wheel where necessary, but this needs to be more than just both sides saying the right things so early in their arranged partnership.
The Giants need the Schoen and Harbaugh double act to ace this draft and accelerate a rapid turnaround. Fortunately, the pair’s work in free agency has prompted similarly glowing reviews.
Free Agency-Style Collaboration Key to Giants Draft
What ownership wants to see from Schoen and Harbaugh is genuine collaboration. A process that seemingly began the right way when the Giants set about plundering this year’s veteran market.
Schoen told Breer how “We didn’t sit down and just say, Hey, this is our process and how we do free agency. He (Harbaugh) sat back, and he got to see some of the pro meetings, how they were organizing and really narrowing the field for us. And then we narrowed it even more based on the values that we thought guys were going to be.”
For his part, Harbaugh came away from free agency believing he and Schoen got everything right, explaining, “The success is we didn’t miss out on any opportunities,” Harbaugh says. “We didn’t not get a guy where we were like, ‘Oh man, we could’ve signed him for that?.'”
Harbaugh’s influence on the process was obvious by the sheer number of ex-Ravens who rocked up at MetLife Stadium. Including tight end Isaiah Likely, and fullback Patrick Ricard.
Although not every signing was praised, Harbaugh and Schoen seemed to establish a way of working both find comfortable. That way will be tested by the draft, starting with how the Giants use the fifth-overall pick, but at least there’s optimism coach and GM can get on the same page.
John Harbaugh Speaks Out About Giants GM’s Scouting ‘Format’