Team president John Mara stayed true to his word and wasted no time confirming head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen will return for the New York Giants in 2025.
Co-owner Mara “felt it necessary” to release a statement on Monday, January 6. During which he explained Schoen and Daboll “will continue in their respective roles with the organization.”
That comes as a surprise after the Giants concluded a 3-14 season. Mara acknowledged “as disappointing as the results of the season have been, Steve (Tisch) and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team.”
Statement from Giants President John Mara
Daboll and Schoen hardly earned a reprieve, but they now have the unlikely chance to continue developing a core of exciting young players, including record-breaking wide receiver Malik Nabers.
Their immediate priority remains finding a lasting solution at quarterback.
Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen Process a Tough Sell
The idea the Giants are following the right process is a tough sell. After all they’ve gone from 10 wins and the playoffs in 2022 to 6-11 and 3-14.
Results show a bleak lack of progress. That lack of momentum has shown up most vividly in Daboll’s ownership of the offense.
He took the play-calling responsibilities from coordinator Mike Kafka at the start of the season, but the results proved dire with Daboll on the headset. As ESPN’s Jordan Raanan noted, the Giants ranked “30th in yards, 31st in ppg” after they were “29th in yards, 30th in ppg the previous season. Inexplicable. Brian Daboll being the play caller didn’t change anything.”
Misplaced faith in Daniel Jones as QB1 had a lot to do with the Giants problems on offense. It was the big decision facing Schoen and Daboll, one they got spectacularly wrong.
Correcting their mistake will be tough when the Giants own the third-overall pick in this year’s draft. The silver lining comes from the success of 2024’s draft class.
Giants Have Young Foundation
Nabers rates as a major success, having set a franchise record with 109 catches. His stellar debut season helps explain the decision to keep Schoen.
The latter was the main architect of the decision to pay Jones and let two-time Pro Bowl running Saquon Barkley test free agency. Barkley joined the Giants fiercest NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles and led the league in rushing, while Jones was cut and ended up playing third-string with the Minnesota Vikings.
That kind of fallout to the wrong decisions usually gets a general manager fired. Schoen’s survival has prompted “WILD reaction around the league,” according to Diannia Russini of The Athletic.
Perhaps Mara stuck with Schoen because of the contributions of other rookies. Notably, Barkley’s replacement, fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Tracy rushed for 839 yards in a breakout debut campaign. He and Nabers are a dynamic duo capable of transforming Daboll’s offense, not to mention the overall fortunes of the Giants, provided they are equipped with a playmaker at quarterback.
Daboll and Schoen surely won’t get many more chances to finally get this key decision right.
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Giants President Confirms ‘Necessary’ Brian Daboll/Joe Schoen Decision