Latest On Giants GM Joe Schoen’s Job Security

Despite changing head coaches this offseason, the Giants decided to retain GM Joe Schoen after bringing in John Harbaugh.

During the coaching search, many wondered if Harbaugh would want be paired with a GM who he has a preexisting relationship with.

Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the “major roster-building events” like free agency and the draft was a trial run for Schoen and the rest of the front office under Harbaugh. The Giants spent $173 million in free agency and shipped DT Dexter Lawrence for the 10th overall pick, which they used on OL Francis Mauigoa. 

Following the trade up for third-round WR Malachi Fields, Harbaugh praised Schoen’s draft process and doesn’t think they could’ve done much better. 

“Joe and I have been working together every single day,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, hours on end, whether it’s planning or organizing or just talking about players or watching tape again over and over again on these guys. I feel like it’s gone very well. I think if you look at the draft and you want to talk about results, we’ll talk about results down the road. We have to find out. We’ll see. It’s like all these draft classes. You don’t know until we get out there and start playing. On the surface right now, I feel great about it. I don’t feel we could have done any better.”

Duggan believes it would make sense for the Giants to extend Schoen if he’s not fired, since he’s entering the last year of his deal. He also mentioned “there’s no doubt” who the “more powerful force” is in the relationship between Schoen and Harbaugh.

Overall, Duggan feels most of the noise surrounding Schoen’s job security is coming from outside the building.

SNY’s Pat Leonard took a different tone than Duggan. He said some around the league think Schoen could be fired as soon as this week, while others think the positive returns of the draft class could lead to them keeping him for 2026 but not renewing his contract after the season.

Leonard thinks Harbaugh will eventually want to rebuild the front office’s foundation, just as he did with the roster in the offseason. He also brought up the fact that many expect Harbaugh to eventually bring in a respected GM with whom he has a connection. 

Schoen, 46, began his career as an NFL executive in 2001 as a scouting assistant with the Panthers. He stayed in Carolina until 2007 in the scouting department before joining the Dolphins’ front office in 2008. Schoen was promoted to assistant director of college scouting in 2013 and then again to director of player personnel in 2014.

He then became the assistant GM with the Bills in 2017 and stayed in that role until 2021. Schoen was hired as the Giants’ GM in 2022.

Since Schoen took over as GM, the Giants have a record of 18-32-1, which includes one playoff appearance and a playoff win.

We’ll have more on Schoen and the Giants as the news is available.