Although Joe Schoen has been given another year as the New York Giants general manager, don't think for a second that the 46-year-old doesn't have a future as a used car salesman. Seriously. The way he downplayed his role in Big Blue's demise should be studied.
It'd be one thing if he just acknowledged the shortcomings and provided a lick of accountability. It'd be another if he completely ignored the past four seasons and downplayed his role entirely in the colossal nightmare that's become Giants football. I wonder which road he took.
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Schoen met with the media on Monday morning and managed to take some accountability -- some being the generous word -- in the most infuriating way imaginable, because if there’s one thing this man hates more than winning, it’s a bruised ego. Here's him owning up to his missteps:
"Early on, I made mistakes. I'm fortunate to have great ownership here where you're allowed to stub your toe and course correct."
The audacity.
Joe Schoen delivers masterclass in downplaying Giants' failures
Firstly, equating the Giants' worst stretch of football in its 101-year history to a "stubbed toe" is a fireable offense in its own right. Secondly, ownership just threw your employment the biggest lifeline known to mankind, and you can't even be sincere enough to look in the mirror and set your ego aside and own up to your contributions to the mess? What are we even doing here?
Imagine how badly he'd have to fail to compare it to stepping on a LEGO.
This gives off the same energy as me spilling a cup of fresh-brewed coffee on someone and then saying, ‘Oh, sorry you were standing there.' Like, no. Where is the accountability? He supposedly wants a head coach who'll hold players and the other coaches accountable, but why not himself?
Limiting his mistakes to "early on" is cute, too. As if he didn't just keep Evan Neal on the 53-man roster all season, while he didn't even play a snap. Like he didn't let Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney walk in free agency, only for them to become All-Pros for their respective new teams. Like he didn't completely whiff on the 2023 Draft.
Schoen already duped ownership into bringing him back for another year. The least he could do is have his moment of truth and take some responsibility. Everything he says is calculated. Remember, not two months ago, a viral draft video showed Schoen essentially tie the Jaxson Dart draft pick to former head coach Brian Daboll, to make sure there was evidence that if it didn't work out, he'd come out squeaky clean.
Unfortunately for him, Dart ended up looking every bit the Giants' next franchise quarterback, and he was left scrambling to tell the media he also wanted the Ole Miss standout and that it was a complete team decision. It's just who this guy is.
Now heading into Year 5, the much-maligned GM will be leading the G-Men’s head coach search. If he gets this wrong, it’ll finally expose the inadequacy that Giants fans have seen all along. It only took one post-2025 season press conference to kill hope for 2026. Maybe 2027 will be our year.