Ever since the New York Giants hired John Harbaugh to be their head coach, Joe Schoen has been in a vulnerable position. Fans have been expecting him to get fired for years now, but he must have some serious dirt on ownership as he was able to survive the mass exodus of the previous regime.
Even though they kept Schoen, Harbaugh is the Giants' new top decision-maker, which was expected to stir up more problems. Harbs was quick to admit he's a fan of Schoen's, and the longtime GM reciprocated the sentiment about their collaboration while addressing the media at the NFL combine.
The 46-year-old had nothing but good things to say about the Super Bowl-winning head coach, as in spite of their many differences, they have learned that they have one major thing in common: they both love football and are hoping to return this football team to the juggernaut we've seen in the past.
The working relationship between John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen is off to a good start
When Brian Daboll was the head coach, a battle of egos would go down far too often, but now that Harbaugh is in town, that isn't really happening. For as arrogant as Schoen can seem at times, he came off pretty even-keeled in this interview, but maybe this could be credited to his altered role.
It's hard not to praise someone who is always in the building and is just as committed as you are to turning a down-in-the-dumps franchise around. The G-Men have made the playoffs just twice since winning the Super Bowl in 2011, so it's gonna take more than just one man to rewrite the narrative.
In recent years, Big Blue has dealt with plenty of locker room issues, but also front office red flags. I will venture to say that the 63-year-old will handle most of the locker room problems, so now that Schoen is getting a head start in the scouting department, they're in a pretty good spot draft-wise.
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They pick fifth overall this coming April, so the most important thing about Schoen and Harbaugh being on the same page surrounds that pick. There are so many ways the Giants can attack this offseason (and this pick), and cohesion in their thought process will yield the most positive results.
It's promising to know that the Giants have a regime in place who work well together, even if Harbaugh is the one making the majority of the decisions. This is a concept that is basically unheard of for this franchise nowadays, so hopefully it continues translating throughout the rest of the offseason.