There is no denying Joe Schoen inherited a Giant mess.
When his predecessor as general manager, Dave Gettleman, retired in January 2022, the Giants were in salary-cap hell, devoid of depth and hampered by questions about their franchise quarterback.
They lost at least 10 games in each of Gettleman’s four seasons, received minimal production from big-money signings such as Kenny Golladay and Nate Solder and were less than a year removed from using a first-round draft pick on Kadarius Toney.
Fixing such a bleak situation promised to be difficult, but Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll knew what they were getting into when they left the Bills for bigger jobs with Big Blue.
And three years later, it doesn’t look much better.
Yes, the Giants boast a more reasonable cap situation these days. And yes, they seem to have hit on quite a few of their 2024 draft picks.
But the Giants just tied for the NFL’s worst record at 3-14, are 9-25 overall in the last two seasons and have less certainty than ever at quarterback.
They’ve missed on premium draft picks under Schoen.
Arguably their two best players — left tackle Andrew Thomas and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence — were drafted by Gettleman. Another star from the previous regime, Saquon Barkley, just rushed for 2,005 yards with the hated Philadelphia Eagles after leaving the Giants in the offseason.
Despite those disappointments, Schoen and Daboll will be back for a fourth season, co-owner John Mara announced Sunday.
They now enter a pivotal offseason with a chance to draft a franchise quarterback — they have the No. 3 overall pick — or find another way to acquire one.
So how did they end up here? Here is a look back at the last three years under Schoen and Daboll.
Declining Daniel Jones’ option
The first major decision for the Giants under Schoen came about three months after his hiring.
Schoen and company declined Jones’ $22.39 million option for the 2023 season, meaning the former first-round pick would play 2022 on the last year of his rookie deal.
Jones was just 12-25 through three NFL seasons at that point and was coming off back-to-back down years.
But the Giants’ decision not to commit an extra year would eventually have significant ramifications.
2022 NFL Draft
With the Giants lacking cap space, Schoen’s first draft took on extra importance as he began to rebuild the roster.
The Giants owned their own pick at No. 5, as well as the No. 7 overall pick from the Chicago Bears thanks to a draft-day trade made by Gettleman the previous year.
Schoen drafted pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux at No. 5, then missed badly with the No. 7 pick by taking offensive tackle Evan Neal.
The Giants took second-round slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson nine picks before star wideout George Pickens went to the Steelers.
They have received differing degrees of production from third-round cornerback Cor’Dale Flott, fourth-round safety Dane Belton and fifth-round linebacker Micah McFadden, but offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu has started only 10 games and has not lived up to his draft slot.
2022 season
The Daboll-Schoen era got off to a great start when the Giants upset the Titans, 21-20, on the road in Week 1.
The win was particularly impressive for Daboll, who opted to go for two and the win after the Giants’ final touchdown rather than settle for tied score against the AFC’s reigning No. 1 seed.
The Giants continued to shock the NFL by reeling off wins — including over the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers and Lamar Jackson-led Ravens — en route to a 6-1 record, despite using a roster largely assembled by Gettleman.
They evened out down the stretch, finishing 9-7-1. All but one of those wins was by one score — a rate that’s widely considered unsustainable — but the gritty Giants made the playoffs as a wild-card team nonetheless.
Perhaps more notably, Jones flashed under Daboll, who arrived with a reputation as a quarterback whisperer.
Jones’ 3,205 passing yards and 708 rushing yards marked career highs, while his 15-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best of his career.
Daboll won 2022 NFL Coach of the Year honors for the Giants’ unlikely season.
2022 playoffs
The playoffs came with another surprise, as the Giants upset the Minnesota Vikings, 31-24, on the road in the opening round.
Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and added 78 yards on the ground — a performance many consider instrumental in him receiving a long-term contract with the Giants.
But the Giants crashed back to reality in the second round, when the Eagles embarrassed them, 38-7.
Jones and Barkley
Jones’ impending free agency became a polarizing topic.
On one hand, he had just led the Giants to a playoff win and showed enough promise to inspire hope he could continue to improve under Daboll.
On the other, his statistical production still paled in comparison to that of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, and a big payday would limit the Giants’ ability to bolster the roster elsewhere.
That’s where the $22.39 million fifth-year option would have fit quite nicely.
Using the franchise tag on Jones would have cost $32.416 million, all of which would have been guaranteed in 2023.
In the end, the Giants signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract featuring front-loaded guarantees, making it palatable for them to cut ties midway through the deal.
They then used the franchise tag on Barkley, guaranteeing him about $10 million for one year rather than giving an extension to their best player.
2023 offseason
Following their commitment to Jones, the Giants made a splash trade for pass-catching tight end Darren Waller in an effort to build around him.
They also signed linebacker Bobby Okereke, who has stood out as a leader and playmaker through two seasons in his four-year deal.
The rest of the offseason was relatively quiet, mostly defined by one-year signings and a draft class headlined by cornerback Deonte Banks, center John Michael Schmitz and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt that is yet to move the needle much.
2023 season
The 2023 season got off to about as opposite of a start as possible compared to the previous year.
The Giants lost, 40-0, to the Cowboys in Week 1, setting the tone for an ugly season.
Jones’ play regressed, as he managed only two touchdown passes against six interceptions in six games before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Before that injury, he missed three games with a neck ailment.
The Giants began the season 2-8 and at least appeared poised for a high pick in a draft flush with quarterback prospects, but they won four games from that point on, including three with undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito.
The Waller trade was a bust, as the former Pro Bowler managed only 552 receiving yards and one touchdown, then retired.
Daboll butted heads with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, leading to a divorce between the latter and the Giants.
Barkley’s departure
In a saga that’s largely defined his GM tenure to this point, Schoen allowed Barkley — a locker room leader, fan favorite and, again, the team’s best player — to test the open market rather than tag him for a second consecutive offseason.
The Eagles struck quickly, giving the do-it-all Barkley a three-year, $37.5 million contract, operating much differently than a Giants regime that was reluctant to pay a running back entering his age 27 season.
Instead, the Giants used their money to sign pass rusher Brian Burns, whom they acquired from the Panthers, to a five-year, $141 million contract and to add multiple offensive linemen.
2024 NFL Draft
The 2023 late-season surge put the Giants in line for the No. 6 overall pick, and while Schoen tried to trade up — most aggressively with the Patriots to take quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 — a deal never manifested.
Instead, the Giants stuck at No. 6 and drafted wide receiver Malik Nabers, who, through one season, seems to be the best player Schoen has added in his three years.
But the Giants passed on quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr., who went No. 8 to the Falcons, and Bo Nix, who went No. 12 to the Broncos. Both looked good as rookies.
Second-round safety Tyler Nubin, third-round cornerback Andru Phillips and fifth-round running back Tyrone Tracy all appeared to be suitable building blocks as rookies, but whether any will develop into anything more remains to be seen.
‘Hard Knocks’
Schoen’s 2024 decision-making earned renewed scrutiny when HBO featured the Giants on its offseason edition of “Hard Knocks.”
The Giants’ very visible pursuit of a quarterback in the draft put Jones in an unenviable spot, while their approach to Barkley’s free agency aged poorly.
Among the biggest takeaways were that Mara told Schoen he would have trouble sleeping if Barkley signed with Philly and that Schoen did not make the running back a final offer.
Jones’ release
The worst-case scenario played out for the Giants in 2024, as Jones continued to struggle upon returning from his knee injury.
He threw eight touchdown passes against seven interceptions before the Giants, at 2-8, decided to bench him.
The decision came with financial implications, as Jones’ contract included a $23 million injury guarantee for 2025 that would have triggered if he got hurt and was unable to pass a physical in March.
The decision to move on from the best QB on the roster, however, did not sit well with players in the locker room.
The Giants would go on to grant Jones his release.
Rest of 2024
The rest of the 2024 season remained a disaster. The Giants, in their 100th season, would bottom out with a franchise-record 10-game losing streak.
Planes flew over MetLife Stadium demanding that Mara fix the mess and clean house.
The Giants didn’t even end up with the No. 1 overall pick, as a Week 17 win over the Indianapolis Colts dropped them down in a draft considered weak at quarterback.
The 14 losses are the most in Giants history.
And Mara isn’t happy about it. But while he expressed his discontentment with all of the Giants’ losing, and described quarterback as their “big issue,” he told reporters Monday that he likes the plan Schoen and Daboll laid out for him last week.
“It’s my strong belief that we are going — that we are gonna go in the right direction,” Mara said. “It’s hard for me to say we’re going in the right direction right now because we’ve been going backwards.”