Q: So what did you think?
A: I thought he (Joe Schoen) handled himself well. No surprises, just what we expected. He’s got a lot of poise and that was one of the things that attracted us to him.
Q: Poise and what else attracted you to him?
A: Well, I think the body of work. He started at the very bottom, worked his way up. His role in helping build the Buffalo Bills to where they are right now, he’s seen how it should be done. We’re in a similar situation to what they were in four or five years ago. I think all those things. I also think he has really strong communication skills and is going to be able to unite the building. The communication hasn’t been the greatest in the building over the last couple of years, and I think with (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe’s (Schoen) addition that’ll get straightened out.
Q: This might be splitting hairs a little, but you said the GM would hire the coach. Joe said it would be collaborative, so who really has the final say?
A: It’s a collaboration. Listen, he’s not going to hire anybody that we don’t want and we’re certainly not going to hire anybody that he doesn’t want. But ownership always has the final approval over any decision like that. That’s just not going to change.
Q: Is it fair to say though that he has more say than the previous general managers in that regard?
A: No, I don’t think so. Our system has always been the same. We rely on the general manager. We rely on his advice, but at the end of the day, ownership has to approve it.
Q: I asked him about this, the continuity issue just to get off of this train that you guys have been on here –
A: I’m dying to get off of this train. I hate being in the position that we’re in right now. I want continuity. I want somebody who’s going to be in the building for a long period of time. I don’t want to do another one of these press conferences for many, many years. Yes, that is a big consideration.
Q: You announced when (Former Senior Vice President and General Manger) Dave (Gettleman) retired that the new GM would oversee the head coaching staff. So is it fair to say that the new coach will be reporting to Joe?
A: Yes. That is fair to say. That’s the structure that I believe in with the head coach reporting to the general manager.
Q: Could I ask you about the process? Obviously, every GM who has come in here has said that he has a process. How is Joe’s process as he’s outlined it to you going to be different?
A: I just think his vision in how to build a team combining all the analytics and sports science and how to build a staff and different roles for each person on the staff, how he wants our scouts to act, how he wants our pro personnel department to act. I just think all those things, there’s a lot of thought that went behind that. They’ve obviously had success with it in Buffalo and we need to make some changes in how we do things around here and that was one of the big reasons why we wanted to bring somebody in from the outside that can look and see what we’re doing, see what we’re doing well, see what we’re doing poorly at and just change things to a point where everybody’s on the same page moving forward.
Q: Obviously a new GM and a new coach, those are big changes, but do you think deeper changes are needed, like more of a shakeup within the organization?
A: I think I’m going to let Joe take a look. He’s only been here for a few days. As he said, he wants to evaluate everybody. I’d like to see him do that. I think you could see some additions to our staff at some point in time, but that’ll be his call and I think he’ll do that after he’s had the chance to really evaluate more people in the building.
Q: You’ve been in all the interviews for the head coaches. First of all, is Joe really the point man for that?
A: He is. I told him that I want him to take the lead in that. You outline it any way you want. I’m going to ask questions from time to time, which I have, as has (Senior Vice President, Player Personnel) Chris (Mara), as has (Chairman and Executive Vice President) Steve (Tisch), but Joe is taking the lead in those interviews.
Q: And the two Buffalo guys, I mean, he knows them quite well.
A: Yes, he does.
Q: Is it hard to think that one of those guys could be very likely the favorite as a head coach?
A: Listen, I feel very good about the candidates that we have. I’m not going to call anybody the favorite right now.
Q: You mentioned the candidates, are they the only candidates or are there others?
A: I would say we’re concentrating on the ones that we have right now. I’m not going to rule out the possibility of somebody else entering into the mix, but right now I think we’re pretty comfortable with the group that we have.
Q: Did you offer a timetable at all to try to get this done with a coach?
A: I want to make sure that we get it right as opposed to giving you a specific timetable. But I would hope that by the beginning of next week we will have made a decision.
Q: What timeline of expectations have you talked to Joe Schoen about for winning? Are you looking at this as a process long-term?
A: I’m looking at this as a process. I haven’t told him, ‘Joe, we better make the playoffs next year, otherwise you’re out of here.’ I’m not making any statements like that. I want him to build the thing the right way and give us a chance for sustained success. I’m not giving him any specific demands for next year. Just build the team the right way.
Q: And you don’t expect a quick turnaround? You just want this thing –
A: I expect us to be a heck of lot better than four wins next year, but again, I haven’t given him any specific number that he has to achieve. Get the right coach, build the right program and let’s see some progress at the end of the season.
Q: You mentioned the coach and GM needing to be on the same page with communication and having a working relationship. One of the candidates you’re interviewing (Former Dolphins Head Coach), Brian Flores, reportedly had a power struggle with his GM in Miami. He wanted more power. What is your comfort level with that, and will there be some hard questions?
A: That’s certainly one of the things that we’re going to ask Brian. I discussed it with him briefly when I spoke to him a week ago, but we’re going to spend some time on that when he comes in tomorrow.
Q: What did you say? What did he say in his response?
A: I’m not going to go into that. It’s obviously something that we’re going to have to discuss.
Q: When you hear (Pro Football Hall of Famer) Bill Parcells said that this was the best job in the league, did that resonate with you at all?
A: It does, it does, because a lot of you out there think it’s one of the poorest jobs in the league and I get that from the turnover we’ve had recently. But I think Bill knows that we treat people the right way and I think he knows how badly we want to win. I think that’s what was behind that statement. There was no shortage of interest in this job, let me put it that way.
Q: The NFL currently only has one black head coach, and the Giants have never had one. I’m curious if that weighs on you as you’re making the decision.
A: It’s certainly something I’m aware of. At the end of the day, we want to get the right person and I think we have a good, diverse group of candidates right now. We’ll make a decision based on who we think is going to be the best person to lead us in the future. It was very important that we have a diverse group of candidates.
Q: (General Manager) Joe (Schoen) seems to have really strong support for (Quarterback) Daniel Jones, talking about building the offense around him. Is that a reflection of the entire organizational support for him even after last year and the injuries and everything else?
A: I want Joe and the new head coach to make that evaluation. We do feel that Daniel can play. We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here. We keep changing coaches, keep changing offensive coordinators, keep changing offensive line coaches. I take a lot of responsibility for that, but let’s bring in the right group of coaches now and give him some continuity and try to rebuild the offensive line and then be able to make an intelligent evaluation of whether he can be the franchise quarterback or not. I have a lot of hope in Daniel, and I know how badly he wants it. I know how the players feel about him. We are certainly not giving up on him by any stretch of the imagination.
Q: Joe (Schoen) kept using the word ‘lockstep,’ him and the head coach being in lockstep. We haven’t talked to Steve (Tisch) in a while. I’m just curious, are you guys in lockstep? What’s that relationship like?
A: Steve and I have a great relationship. We talk all the time. We are in lockstep. We were both very high on Joe from the very beginning since that first interview we did, and we’ve been in agreement on every candidate so far. Our relationship is better than ever.
Q: You mentioned you’ve talked to Brian Flores. Reports said that you reached out to him. I’m curious what the purpose was for that?
A: I reached out to him because he was on…all the candidates that we interviewed for General Manager, he was on each of their lists. I see he’s been interviewing elsewhere, I just wanted to let him know that before you make a decision, just know that we have interest in you. Make whatever decision you feel like you need to make for you and your family, but just know that we do have interest in you. Once I get the general manager search done, we will be back to you, so that was the purpose of that call.
Q: I know you don’t get involved in personnel decisions unless there’s a legal situation, you said that on your Zoom a couple of weeks ago. I know there’s a lot of decisions that need to be made at quarterback. Could you rule in or rule out potentially trading for (Texans Quarterback) Deshaun Watson given his sexual assault allegations?
A: We’re not trading for Deshaun Watson.
Q: Why not?
A: There’s so many reasons why we wouldn’t do that. Cap-wise, we couldn’t afford it. But more importantly, with the allegations that are out there right now, that’s just not the right fit for us.
Q: You said you keep lists all the time, how long was Joe on your radar?
A: Honestly, not until fairly recently, and I started doing a lot of research I would say six or eight weeks ago, maybe a little longer. Just looking at the different teams that I have a great deal of respect for and looking at their personnel and Buffalo has done it the right way. So, I started making calls about Joe and others. I’m still trying to find somebody out there that will say something negative about him, and I have not found that yet. Everybody I’ve talked to about him raves about his work ethic, his evaluation skills, his communication skills. All those things that we’ve said before were really impressive.
A: It’s a collaboration. Listen, he’s not going to hire anybody that we don’t want and we’re certainly not going to hire anybody that he doesn’t want. But ownership always has the final approval over any decision like that. That’s just not going to change.
Q: Is it fair to say though that he has more say than the previous general managers in that regard?
A: No, I don’t think so. Our system has always been the same. We rely on the general manager. We rely on his advice, but at the end of the day, ownership has to approve it.
I don't know if he said that or not. But he just made it clear that the GM is going to provide his recommendation, but he will not have the final say.
A: It’s a collaboration. Listen, he’s not going to hire anybody that we don’t want and we’re certainly not going to hire anybody that he doesn’t want. But ownership always has the final approval over any decision like that. That’s just not going to change.
Q: Is it fair to say though that he has more say than the previous general managers in that regard?
A: No, I don’t think so. Our system has always been the same. We rely on the general manager. We rely on his advice, but at the end of the day, ownership has to approve it.
Just noted this on another thread but there really isn't anything unreasonable with what Mara said above.
You may be completely wary of him and his judgment based on the past. But Mara wants the GM to lead the process and recommend a good coach, and he wants to approve it.
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Ownership goes with what the GM says/wants like 99.9% of the time?
I don't know if he said that or not. But he just made it clear that the GM is going to provide his recommendation, but he will not have the final say.
yes -- he (Mara) did use that 99% of the time statement
Chris is still going to be involved. How much is TBD.
Jones will be given a chance, I think JM genuinely believes he as been given a terrible set of circumstances which is a fair assessment. I also think the new staff will move on if they want to.
I think Flores interview is very big. This is who I think Mara will want if JS likes him. Don't discount that question about never having a black HC (he's on the committee). Mara won't hire him for that but JS better convince him why Daboll or someone else is the better HC if Flores impresses imv.
Giants will never be a team that just lets the football people do the work.
We were led to believe that Schoen would run the show. Fans who defend the Giants regardless of how bad they've become jumped all over this.
Now the argument has shifted to, "well, he's the owner, what do you expect?"
The Maras don't know what they are doing. They are not good at this. They need to let the professionals handle the football operations.
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Ownership goes with what the GM says/wants like 99.9% of the time?
I don't know if he said that or not. But he just made it clear that the GM is going to provide his recommendation, but he will not have the final say.
I do remember the 99% quote. And nothing John said indicates that ownwership will be making the decision. From everything that Mara's said, ownership only intervenes when there is a legal/moral issue with the candidate, otherwise it's a rubber stamp. John and Steve might ask questions about candidates, but that would just seem to be prudent if they are less familiar with a candidate than the GM.
We were led to believe that Schoen would run the show. Fans who defend the Giants regardless of how bad they've become jumped all over this.
Now the argument has shifted to, "well, he's the owner, what do you expect?"
The Maras don't know what they are doing. They are not good at this. They need to let the professionals handle the football operations.
I don't defend the Giants blindly, nor did I say what do you expect.
Schoen is running the show on hiring the new Head Coach. He will collaborate with Mara/Tisch and get his choice approved.
He writes the checks so he gets to make these statements.
He may simply be saving a bit of face because he knows that the team is what it is with him at the wheel.
Hopefully his part of the collaboration consists mostly of "Joe, if you say so..."
I don't care what the new HC says
I don't care what management says about Jones
I don't care what management says about any players
The proof will be in the results. I have adopted a strictly "show me" attitude. In the past people were excited about Judge, about BigMac, about the "asst coach of the year" Shurmur. It doesn't matter, its just all talk until it isn't
Also they only starting doing more researxh 8 weeks ago even thin they knew DG was retiring from so much earlier? Wtf
Lastly Joe saying everyone is staying on until he can prove that they aren't good enough? How many of his people is Joe bringing in?
Mara has said it twice now, and Schoen has now said it.
What is to be determined?
If the parenthetical is from the Giants, that seems to indicate Schoen will have the same title as Gettleman and likely Chris Mara will retain his Senior VP title. So much for my hope that Schoen would be President of Football Operations and GM or something like that.
So the $64,000 question is whether the org chart will show (and what the reality will be regardless) of whether much of the staff (Dir of College Scouting etc) will report to Chris Mara, to Schoen or some nightmare dual reporting structure.
The contents of the parentheses are ruining my day.
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Is Schoen running the show? TBD.
Mara has said it twice now, and Schoen has now said it.
What is to be determined?
No. Schoen just said it would be a collaborative effort and he was just one voice in the room. Mara just said Schoen does not have the authority to hire the next head coach without Mara's permission.
Mara also just suggested that Daniel Jones will be on the 2022 team.
We have yet to see if Schoen will be able to restructure parts of the organization that have grown stale. (See Mara's response above - he punted on that one).
Perhaps. But Mara picked the last two GMs that have been fired and the last 4 HCs who have been fired. Maybe he should stay out of it.
Or perhaps you like the Giants being the worst team in the NFL?
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In comment 15576518 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
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Ownership goes with what the GM says/wants like 99.9% of the time?
I don't know if he said that or not. But he just made it clear that the GM is going to provide his recommendation, but he will not have the final say.
yes -- he (Mara) did use that 99% of the time statement
Mara said that when the GM and HC are in alignment, he will approve 99.9% of the time.
When they are not in alignment, he is the tiebreaker.
Except Mara has become Daniel Snyder.
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for the owner and the GM not to agree on the HC. Talk about setting the GM up for failure. It is a decision-making process where they work toward consensus.
Perhaps. But Mara picked the last two GMs that have been fired and the last 4 HCs who have been fired. Maybe he should stay out of it.
Or perhaps you like the Giants being the worst team in the NFL?
I don't care what the new HC says
I don't care what management says about Jones
I don't care what management says about any players
The proof will be in the results. I have adopted a strictly "show me" attitude. In the past people were excited about Judge, about BigMac, about the "asst coach of the year" Shurmur. It doesn't matter, its just all talk until it isn't
Talk about lockstep. PP I'm in LOCKSTEP with YOU on THIS. Shut up and show us some wins. I don't care how you get there(well maybe a little), but win some fing games. Schoen Mara and Tisch could all be saying the EXACT perfect thing I want to hear, but its all Bull til they start winning.
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That's what owners do. That's why they're called owners. Of course he has final approval of Schoen's decision on a coach. How could anyone think he wouldn't. We're talking about the 2nd most important position in the organization. In fact, I'd be really worried if he didn't have to approve it. What would that say about the organization. The Giants would be the only business in the world where ownership didn't have to give an approval on this important of a decision. Is that what you really want.
Except Mara has become Daniel Snyder.
I still want the organization to function like an organization. Not having the owner take an owners role in this makes no sense.
You can own a team without sticking your nose into football operations, especially if you have no talent for it.
Mara gets everything wrong. I'm not joking. He'd be better off flipping a coin.
BUT
I found this to be an encouraging answer.
Q: Could I ask you about the process? Obviously, every GM who has come in here has said that he has a process. How is Joe’s process as he’s outlined it to you going to be different?
A: I just think his vision in how to build a team combining all the analytics and sports science and how to build a staff and different roles for each person on the staff, how he wants our scouts to act, how he wants our pro personnel department to act. I just think all those things, there’s a lot of thought that went behind that. They’ve obviously had success with it in Buffalo and we need to make some changes in how we do things around here and that was one of the big reasons why we wanted to bring somebody in from the outside that can look and see what we’re doing, see what we’re doing well, see what we’re doing poorly at and just change things to a point where everybody’s on the same page moving forward.
Trying to read between the lines there a bit, you have to imagine that part of what sold Mara on Schoen was the vision he articulated for those areas....areas where so many of us have been DESPERATE to see the Giants evolve. I don't know if this guy is the right guy or the wrong guy....but if nothing else, hearing those words from Mara is progress.
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In comment 15576615 Eric from BBI said:
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Is Schoen running the show? TBD.
Mara has said it twice now, and Schoen has now said it.
What is to be determined?
No. Schoen just said it would be a collaborative effort and he was just one voice in the room. Mara just said Schoen does not have the authority to hire the next head coach without Mara's permission.
You're minimizing Schoen for whatever your reasons. Both Mara and Schoen have said that Joe is leading the process to find the new Head Coach.
After the interviews, Schoen will come together with the Owners, recommend his hire and look for the owners to sign off on it. If they express an area of concern or difference, then it will be up to Schoen to clear it if he ultimately expects owner approval.
That is running the show, and not uncommon when hiring a pretty high-level person in an organization.
Obviously the two owners are gonna have to sign off on any head coach.
You can own a team without sticking your nose into football operations, especially if you have no talent for it.
Mara gets everything wrong. I'm not joking. He'd be better off flipping a coin.
Then we have no hope because he hired Schoen. Better pack it in for the next ten years or so. And BTW what Mara is doing is part of "Owners own."
You can argue not only the 2007 Super Bowl win but also the 2011 Super Bowl win was based on "core talent" put in place by Accorsi and early Coughlin while Wellington was still alive.
2012 - 2021 is all on John Mara, Steve Tisch and Chris Mara. They are the constant during that dreadful time period. Hearing they are involved gives many Giants fans PTSD. I don't know why that's so hard to understand.
You can own a team without sticking your nose into football operations, especially if you have no talent for it.
Mara gets everything wrong. I'm not joking. He'd be better off flipping a coin.
And George Young did with Wellington exactly what Schoen os doing with JM. Wellington had final approval of coaches and I believe agreed to have Young as GM. Roselle got Wellington to agree to that.
If you liked Schoen enough to hire him, then trust him to pick the head coach. Mara is flat out saying "not if I don't like it".
Kraft with very few exceptions leaves Belichick alone to do the work.
BUT
I found this to be an encouraging answer.
A: I just think his vision in how to build a team combining all the analytics and sports science and how to build a staff and different roles for each person on the staff, how he wants our scouts to act, how he wants our pro personnel department to act. I just think all those things, there’s a lot of thought that went behind that. They’ve obviously had success with it in Buffalo and we need to make some changes in how we do things around here and that was one of the big reasons why we wanted to bring somebody in from the outside that can look and see what we’re doing, see what we’re doing well, see what we’re doing poorly at and just change things to a point where everybody’s on the same page moving forward.
Sounds to me like Mara wants Schoen to restructure parts of the organization that have grown stale.
Giants GM Joe Schoen Talks Culture, Daniel Jones, Draft, & More | Tiki & Tierney [Full Interview] - ( New Window )
Obviously the two owners are gonna have to sign off on any head coach.
If ownership overrides the GM, nothing is going to change. And you and I will be having the same conversation in two years.
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George Young once said, "Owners own, managers manage, and coaches coach."
You can own a team without sticking your nose into football operations, especially if you have no talent for it.
Mara gets everything wrong. I'm not joking. He'd be better off flipping a coin.
Then we have no hope because he hired Schoen. Better pack it in for the next ten years or so. And BTW what Mara is doing is part of "Owners own."
We may not have hope. He may not have picked the right guy. Hopefully he finally did something right.
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George Young once said, "Owners own, managers manage, and coaches coach."
You can own a team without sticking your nose into football operations, especially if you have no talent for it.
Mara gets everything wrong. I'm not joking. He'd be better off flipping a coin.
And George Young did with Wellington exactly what Schoen os doing with JM. Wellington had final approval of coaches and I believe agreed to have Young as GM. Roselle got Wellington to agree to that.
So far John has been dumber than his father. And Wellington admitted to screwing things up in the 1960s and 1970s.
What if the owners are morons?
He cited conduct issues as one reason this might happen.
He cited conduct issues as one reason this might happen.
Schoen just said that the owner has final say.
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We all understand how bad a football team the New York Giants have become we also understand that John Mara has made some horrible decisions we get that. But to me it seems unrealistic that he’s going to give a brand-new general manager complete and total say over who becomes the head coach and then pay that person millions of dollars a year and expect him as the owner to have no input whatsoever? That seems a little ridiculous.
Obviously the two owners are gonna have to sign off on any head coach.
If ownership overrides the GM, nothing is going to change. And you and I will be having the same conversation in two years.
Who said anything about overriding. It's final approval and Mara said he approves 99% of what is put in front of him. I get it and Mara's approach in hiring DG was a big mistake. He didn't do the same thing this time around did he? You're going to far in thinking that because he is "involved" he's making the decision. Those are not the same things.