The Giants‘ players had mixed reactions in Monday’s locker room to the news that Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll were back for 2025.
Right guard Jon Runyan Jr. supported the GM and coach, saying “I feel comfortable with them” and the “vision they’ve installed here.” But he qualified that this doesn’t mean the Giants (3-14) can afford to stay the same.
“Something has to get better, for sure,” Runyan said. “If somebody in this building [is] comfortable with three wins on the season, they shouldn’t be here next year. … We’re not comfortable with three wins, and we’ve got to do better next season. Bottom line.”
A sluggish Malik Nabers, with a hood over his head, mustered a subdued endorsement.
“I’m happy that they’re back,” he said. “I’m trying to do better next year.”
Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, however, failed to conceal his lack of enthusiasm.
“Yeah, that’s good — that’s good for them,” he said of Schoen and Daboll returning.
Hyatt said of his future with the team: “We’ve got some talks we gotta have, but we’ll see.”
Asked why he had a disappointing second NFL season, his review of the entire offensive system was damning:
“I don’t know,” Hyatt said. “We’ve got a lot of problems that we’ve got to fix. And that’s where I’m gonna leave it.”
Fellow wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson then posted the phrase “quality over quantity” on his Instagram story on Tuesday.
That was an obvious reference to Robinson’s limited and predictable usage in Daboll’s offense, which typically involves a short check-down underneath just in time for a linebacker to crush him.
Robinson finished the Giants’ season finale in Philadelphia with an absurd 10 catches for 43 yards.
Beyond some individual player gripes, there is a ton of uncertainty about where this program is going.
Multiple players are hopeful that consistency in the coaching staff and systems will result in faster and more effective play.
But one player said one of the Giants’ biggest issues is that they don’t have a strong enough belief as a team that they can win, dominate and overcome setbacks in games.
Daboll’s sideline tends to collectively hang its head too often when something goes wrong. The head coach’s demeanor in those moments doesn’t help players to loosen up and play freely, either.
It also said something on Monday that Dexter Lawrence, the team’s best player and a captain, didn’t show up at all to speak — although it’s not clear exactly what that message was.
Meanwhile, it was transparently hypocritical that Schoen and Daboll avoided individual player exit meetings last season — when they were orchestrating staff firings and avoiding Saquon Barkley — and then resumed them this year after winning three games.
“We didn’t like the way we did it last year, so we changed it this year,” Daboll said.
There were several players saying what Runyan and Nabers did: that they’re glad Schoen and Daboll are back.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas said of Daboll: “Continuity is a big thing in this league. He’s a great leader, a great coach.”
Middle linebacker Bobby Okereke said he’s “excited” about next year now because the Giants have a “talented roster.”
And linebacker Micah McFadden said that the defense will benefit from continuity in the system after adjusting to a new scheme in 2024.
Major questions persisted in the locker room during December and January, though, about what the team is going to do at quarterback and about what this roster is even going to look like in 2025.
Some players were tracking the NFL Draft order week-by-week down the stretch of the season just like Giants fans were, curious who had won or lost after their games.
And on Monday, when Schoen and Daboll were declared safe by co-owner John Mara, other players understandably were wondering if the blame wasn’t being placed there, where would it land?
Because as Runyan said, something has to get better.
They can’t just do the same thing and expect different results, right?
That is, as they say, the definition of insanity.