Can someone get the New York Giants an EPIPen? I swear the Giants are allergic to progress. Every time it feels like they’ve bottomed out, they somehow find a way to sink a little lower.
The 2025 season was supposed to be, at the very least, better than 2024. Instead, it was more of the same... another embarrassing, directionless campaign capped off by organizational dysfunction and a locker room begging for an ounce of leadership.
General manager Joe Schoen is still here... for now. Head coach Brian Daboll is gone. Interim HC Mike Kafka is playing placeholder, and the franchise quarterback of the future is doing everything in his power to keep this thing from completely going off the rails.
And now, after suffering through 27 losses over the past two years, the G-Men have no choice but to get it right. It starts with cleaning house, getting serious about who’s running the show, and building a team that's not the laughingstock of the league. There’s no more margin for error. This is it.
4 things the Giants must do in 2026 to avoid another lost season
Move on from Joe Schoen
Can anyone realistically name three things Joe Schoen has done as general manager over the past four years that have set them up for any amount of success moving forward? Aside from trading for Brian Burns and letting Brian Daboll talk him into drafting Jaxson Dart, what else has he done?
Related: Giants have a perfect Joe Schoen replacement waiting for them in January
The 46-year-old has a 21-45-1 overall record as an executive, with only six wins in his last 33 games. The team is going backwards. Now, ownership is trying to sell fans on the idea that the same guy who let Saquon Barkley walk, pay Daniel Jones $160 million, and missed on the entire 2023 draft class is the right person to hire the next head coach -- something this team has failed to do for a decade.
Make it stop. If this organization had an ounce of seriousness in its practices, it'd part ways with Schoen as soon as the season officially ends.
Hire the right head coach and GM
Great segue to my next point, which is bringing in the right people. Schoen ain't it. Daboll wasn't it. Interim head coach Mike Kafka won't be it. It's time to do something different this time around. For far too long the Maras have been appointing the wrong people who hire the wrong people, and it's been crippling this once-proud franchise.
If hiring the right GM and the right head coach this offseason is the only thing this team gets right this season, it's a resounding success. By all accounts, this would be a lucrative position to take. They’ve got a franchise quarterback, a bookend left tackle, a pair of pass-rushers, and young skill players ready to break out under the right guidance.
It can't be overstated how important it is to get these hires correct.
Ditch the excess weight
What do Evan Neal, Jalin Hyatt, and Deonte Banks all have in common? They were all high draft picks that Schoen refused to let go of, because it'd bruise his fragile ego. Whoever's next in charge cannot repeat the same mistakes.
It might not seem like much, but rostering three players who either couldn't see the field (not because of injury) or shouldn't be on the field is organizational malpractice. That's three spots being occupied by players that could easily be replaced with better ones. The best teams almost always have adequate depth, but the Giants like to deviate from the norm whenever possible.
There are plenty of guys on the roster that won't serve a purpose in 2026. Cutting ties with them this offseason is a must, and a clear sign that the times, they are a-changin.
Build a competitive roster around Jaxson Dart
Before we come to a definitive answer on whether the 22-year-old is a franchise cornerstone or not, how about we give him a roster that's not headlined by Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, and Isaiah Hodgins? No offense to that trio, but it's becoming borderline nonsensical, this bashing of Dart because he's 3-8 as the starter and has blown expectations out of the water as a rookie.
Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his first start, and fellow rookie Cam Skattebo joined him a few weeks later with a dislocated ankle. How about before we rush to ill-informed opinions, we acknowledge that throughout one of the worst-run seasons in Giants history, he's done everything in his power to keep this team competitive.
That includes impressive wins over the Chargers and Eagles earlier in the year, and should-have-been wins against the Cowboys, Broncos, and Bears. Imagine if Shane Bowen's late-game collapses hadn't blown up in their faces at the worst possible times. Dart would be 5-6 as a starter, and he'd be the runaway favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Get him all the help he needs.