Joe Schoen Bye Week Press Conference | New York Giants

Joe Schoen Bye Week Press Conference | New York Giants

Um, let me start off with, you know, two wins is not where we want to be right now. It’s not good enough. Um, I understand the frustration from fans, ownership, you know, the people inside the building and nobody’s more frustrated than myself. And it starts with me and I’m tasked with trying to get this organization going back in, you know, the proper direction. And the standard is to compete, you know, for championships year in and year out. And that’s the plan moving forward. So, um, you know, we’re going to look at everything, you know, whether it’s free agency, draft, coaching, um, finishing, execution on the field, whatever it may be. We’re going to look at all avenues in order to get this franchise back to where it belongs. As for the coaching changes we made earlier in the year, this is the first time I’ve spoke with you guys since we moved on from Coach Dball and Shane Bowen. You know, Dabes and I have an extended history together, uh, professionally and personally. Uh, difficult decision. Um, but one we decided to make and he’s a great football coach and he’s going to be successful in whatever he does, you know, after the New York Giants. You know, I’ll say the same with Shane. Appreciate everything Shane did for us. Um, tireless worker, good coach, good man, and wish him nothing but the best um moving forward. As well as for the the coaching search, um, we’re going to do everything we can right now to support KFKA. That’s our primary um focus right now is give Kfka everything he needs in order to succeed over these next four weeks, support him and his staff at the appropriate time. You know, we’ll get into, you know, potential coaches research and we’ll do a thorough uh collaborative research and come up with the best coach to lead the New York Giants going into, you know, 2026 season. Um, as for the roster, I do believe there is a good young core uh to build around here and it will be an attractive job for for many coaches and um, you know, I’m excited to get that process going, you know, as we move forward. As for, you know, you guys going to have some questions on Abdul, I know Kfka just spoke upon that and I’m going to support him with whatever decision he makes in terms of player discipline. Um, so again, I I support him with that decision and you know, I’ll just I’ll just leave it at that. So with that, I’ll open it up for for any questions you guys might have. You mentioned that that your focus is getting Giants back to to routine contention and and really turning this around. Yep. Why do you believe that you’re the right person to to help turn this thing around? Yeah, I I understand the question. Again, my focus right now is on supporting CFKA as we go forward. And we’ll evaluate all aspects of the football operation as we go forward. And has it been perfect? No. But, you know, I’m very confident, my staff, myself, and our ability to get this franchise back where it needs to go. Where confidence come from? You’re 2 and 11 at this time last year. You were saying you’re close and you’re in the exact same spot now. So, what gives you that confidence? Yeah, I understand the question and and I know where you’re coming from. It starts with me. you know, I take responsibility for that. But we do have a good young quarterback, you know, that’s on a rookie contract for the next four years. And that’s when it gets fun when you’re building around a young quarterback. You have a good nucleus, you have a good left tackle, you have a, you know, a wide receiver that had a historic year as a rookie season, you know, you got a good running back room, uh, you got pass rushers. There there’s pieces in place, Dan, and I and I understand the question, and I do have confidence in our our ability and our process to to find the next coach to lead the organization. And and again, I I truly believe in that process and um you know, I know we’re going to get it right. Told you about your future and have you been given any assurances that you’ll be seeing the coaching search and into next year through? Yeah. Again, our focus is going to be on supporting Kafka and his staff. Ownership will evaluate the entire football operation at the end of the season as they should as they should and then we’ll we’ll go from there. You mentioned ownership frustration. What conversations have you had with with John and Steve? Yeah, I again, you guys have seen the results. Two wins not good enough. I mean, I’ll keep our I’ll keep our conversations between us, but we all know two wins isn’t isn’t good enough. Where we are right now isn’t good enough, and it needs to change. Go ahead, Pat. Thanks. You and Brian Dable came in and worked as a collaborative pairing. So, why is he held accountable for the results after four years, but you are not? Yeah, I I understand the question there, too, Pat. And again, I’m equally as, you know, my hands in it just like Brian’s is. And ownership made a decision uh to move on. And again, I’m going to do what control what I can control, and that’s support CFKA moving forward. And again, I wish Dave’s nothing but the best. And we’re going to do everything we can to get this franchise back to where where it should be. You said that you support whatever decision you make for that, but are you concerned that this could be a lingering situation? No. Why? I have a lot of faith in the people in the building and the resources that we have. Abdul’s a a young man that’s 21 years old that’s smart and understands the magnitude of, you know, his actions and also understands what it means to be a pro. And these kids are 21 years old and they’re thrust into the the spotlight in New York City. And it’s not always going to be perfect. People make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. And part of our job is to develop them as football players, but also as people. and we will continue to do that with everybody in this organization. What was your input on the decision to fire Dave? Again, that was a a decision that ownership made and you know I support him with the decision and again now we’re supporting CFKA moving forward. Obviously including that goal you there’s players you know on social media criticizing the coach there’s players not giving an effort, not getting benched. Does the pro does the program the organization have an accountability problem? I’m not real familiar with who was any specifics on the criticizing the coaches or looking to single out Malik, but Malik’s tweet about Kfka after the Lions game or Oh, the play the Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Again, like you try to No different than firing off a text. Like, you know, you should probably take a deep breath in the heat of the moment again. A 20 22-y old kid that’s going through a difficult time right now, not being able to be with his teammates and play and and going through a tough rehab. It’s not easy. and there’s a guy that’s not playing and still, you know, watching, supporting, and feeling the pain with us for not winning. So, again, another young player, you know, it’s a different world. It’s social media and we continue to educate these guys and, you know, we’ll continue to do that. Running the coaching session, do you anticipate Mike Cafka being a candidate for the full-time job beyond? Mike’s gonna get a real look. He’s getting a real look right now. Uh, hands-on. Um, had very good communication with Mike throughout the process. you know, he’s he’s coached for three games. Um, you know, two of them we had leads in the fourth quarter. Guys were ready to go. And last night we, you know, we just we didn’t show up in all three phases, unfortunately. But, um, I have a good relationship with Mike. He’s a good coach, good leader, and, you know, again, he’s getting an opportunity over these next four weeks, um, to continue to lead the team. How would you evaluate Jackson? Obviously, when we last spoke, he wasn’t the starter yet, but just you were high on him. Now that he’s started and played, how would you evaluate what he’s done so far up to this point? Jackson’s done a good job. I’ve been impressed with Jackson. Um offensive player of the month, offensive rookie of the month in October. Uh played really well, you know, for a rookie. Again, I know whether it’s throwing the ball downfield, off platform, creating plays. Um the ability to extend plays, you know, has been impressive. His leadership, his knowledge of the offense, he’s uh he’s he’s exceeded expectations as far. He’s done a good job. That said, how do you try to balance out? Now, obviously, everyone’s talked about it, but have you talked to him or you talked to the coaches about just, hey, we need to protect him better. He needs to protect himself. How have you been involved with that conversation? Yes. And having just lived it in Buffalo, we’ve been through this before. And what makes these players great is, you know, their toughness, their competitiveness, their desire to win, and you appreciate that about Jackson, but you also have to be available and try not to take the unnecessary hits. I would say last night was probably unnecessary. Probably could have gotten it out of bounds, and it’s third and one. and instead we get a penalty and he takes a shot and now it’s third and 16. So there there’s a fine line and what makes it makes Jackson great is his competitiveness, his desire to win. Um and that’s the way he’s wired. So you try to find a line fine line between playing smart but also not taking away what what makes him great. And he’s not the only quarterback that scrambles. I mean you guys watch us against Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes is running all over the place. Jaden Daniels, Josh Allen, some of the best like you can’t be there’s very few that can be the pocket passer that’s just a statue in there these days. So, um, just got to be smart when when you can get down and not have to take hits and unnecessary hits. You got to take advantage of those opportunities so you can live to see another day. the perception is out there regarding Jackson that because of the video clips you guys maybe did in the summer back from the draft you saying to Daves are you convicted in Jackson that the perception is that he was Dable’s guy that he wasn’t your guy um what insight or what what can you speak to that the idea that Jackson wasn’t necessarily your guy but it was the head coach that decided that he would be drafted yeah and again there’s context to those you know again there’s hundreds of conversations leading up to that conversation in the draft room starting, you know, when we met with Jackson at the at the at the Senior Bowl. So, um, you could probably ask Jim Denton. He says, “The earliest 30 visit I’ve ever I’ve ever scheduled, you know, was in January, you know, he was already on our calendar.” So, Jackson was a guy that was on our radar very early in the scouting process before, you know, Daves was even aware of him because he was coaching. And anytime you’re going to make a decision on a first round quarterback, that’s going to be an organizational decision. And it was an organizational decision. Um, credit to my staff. They did a phenomenal job gathering information, understanding the landscape of the draft that, you know, we could get Abdul at three and then wins the re-entry point into the first round where we could still get a quarterback. And again, kudos to my staff, Brandon Brown, Tim Tim McDonald, um, you know, Dennis Hickey, all those guys. The research they did uh, was spot on. And if you’re going to make the decision to move back up into the first round to get a quarterback, all hands are on deck. That was an organizational decision. We’re all on board with it and um you know, I’m glad we were able to do it. We didn’t have to sell the farm to go up and get the quarterback. Um you know, we were able to get him where we where we were. And you know, again, I looks like that pick’s going to pay off. Um if you got better quarterback play, this team would win more games. Um I think it’s obvious this team is getting better quarterback play with pretty much all three quarterbacks. You know, maybe Russ’s not in all the games. Yeah. and the the the record is still what it is. So, how do you how do you look at that and say we have a young nucleus of good talent. We’re getting better quarterback play, which was an issue last year, and the record is just not there. Yeah, Paul, when you look at the offensively, before last night’s game, we were we were up to 10. You know, we’re number 10 in the league. I think we’re 14 now. So, offensively, we have gotten better. You know, run and pass, the numbers are better. Um, defensively, I believe we were 30th last year at this time. you know, that’s with the addition of Abdul Carter, Paulson Adibbo, Javon Howland, Chanty Goston, Roy Roberts, and Harris. And, you know, we’re in that same area, uh, unfortunately. So, uh, to say I expected that, no. But again, it starts with me. We’ve got to do a better job. Um, I didn’t anticipate we would still be 30th in the league in defense at this point with the addition of those players, but but we are. And, you know, we’ve got to do a better job of execution. We’ve got to do a better job of finishing games. And, you know, I’ve got to do a better job with the personnel. You mentioned the roster is right now, right? In year four, year three and four with the win total, right? Three wins last year, two wins, like how do you explain that? Yeah, I understand the question. And I’ll just say this, Jordan, like as we’re looking through it, as we go through the quarter, uh, you the the coaching search and, you know, what what that may look like. You, you know, there’s feedback from outside sources and as you go through it, in my mind, I’m like, okay, if I’m a, if I’m a coordinator and I maybe want to be a head coach, like with the Giants being an attractive job to me, okay, they have a young quarterback that’s that’s shown that’s played at a pretty good level for a rookie. They’ve got a number one receiver that had a historical um, rookie season. They’ve got a left tackle. They’ve got a left guard. They’ve got a center coming back. They’ve got a young running back room. Theo Johnson has shown very good flashes this year, you know, of of play. So, that side of the ball, there’s some pieces in place to build around. Uh defensively, there’s pass rush, there’s Dexter Lawrence, there’s some pieces in the secondary. So, when you look at it individually, are there pieces? Yes. But like, we got to come together collectively as a group and there’s 11 guys on the field that need to be doing the same thing. They need to be on the same page. And unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that. And again, that that starts with me and that’s what we got to figure out. It’s not it’s not just talent. Like you all got to be on the same page and everybody’s got to be rowing in the same direction and and doing their jobs. And that’s what we’re tasked with. That’s part of what we need to figure out moving forward is how to get these pieces to be on the same page and execute at a high level so we can win consistently. Yeah, I I understand your question again. I think somebody asked the same thing earlier, but again, I’m going to control what I can control, which is support KFA over the next four weeks. Ownership should and will evaluate the entire football operation at the end of it. And I’m just going to continue to support CFKA and his staff and and do the best we can over these last four weeks. Did you misealate the significance of leadership on your team by letting guys go like trading Leonard, letting Julian Love go, Xavier McKini, Saquon Barkley? Do you think that has played a part in the fact that your team isn’t able to finish and doesn’t have enough leadership to get to the finish line and get wins? I think we have I know we have leadership on this team. I’ll say that. Like Brian Burns is a very good leader. He’s done a good job. And and I hear you on those guys, but you’re at different points in the build. Okay. You can um you want to rush the passer, protect the passer, and get a quarterback. Okay. Rush the passer, protect the passer, and have a quarterback. In the context of those decisions, if if you bring somebody, you know, if you bring back a safety, now you don’t have a pass rusher. If you bring back a running back, you don’t get Germaine Luminor. You don’t get John Renan. In order to be productive at some of those positions, it helps to have the other. So, um, I understand the leadership portion. We do have leaders on this team. Um, you know, offensively, Jackson has stepped into that role. Scat is a future leader for us. Um, you know, Andrew Thomas has done a good job. Defensively, we’ve got guys. So, um, leadership is always going to be important and we try to have it in every room. Like, nobody talks about Chris Manhertz, but, uh, the development of, you know, Theo Johnson and and Belly, uh, Devin Singleary, you know, a guy in that room that has really been instrumental in Scott and Tyrone Tracy’s development. So, they may be your best players don’t always have to be your leaders. You would like them to be, but in today’s day and age, it’s getting harder and harder to find those guys. But we’re always going to look for leadership and you know again specifically at the quarterback position um I think we have a very good future leader in Jackson Dart. Defensive side of the ball you’ve invested a significant amount of resources in there whether it’s draft picks whether it’s free agent dollars players you’ve let go but the guys that you’ve you’ve decided you want to turn the defense around with to have the defense be in the current state that it is wildly underwhelming or or underperforming at this point. I mean what went wrong and how do you need to change because these are your guys. This is the guys the organization pinpointed to add and it’s it’s been a failure to this point. Yeah, exactly. I I mentioned it earlier. We were 30th last year. We’re 30th this year with the addition of those those talents. So, we we got to do a better job. We got to do a better job. How close do you think this team is to competing truly? I didn’t hear your first. How close do you think this team is to truly compete? We’re two wins. We’re not there. We got to do better. I mean, that’s that is what it is. Like, we’re two wins. You said a couple of times about how Jackson makes this an attractive job, right? Do you do you have to consideration what Jackson will find attractive in a head coach. You’re going to take that into account if he has an opinion. But again, like all due respect to Jackson, he’s been here for nine months. You know, does you you want to lean on him and if it’s an offensive mind or concepts or something, but um you know, you’ve got people in the building that have been doing this for over 20 years and networks around the league and know what it looks like and have been doing it for a long time. So um I respect Jackson a lot. We we have great communication, talk to him about a lot of things and as it gets closer that’s that’s something we’ll have conversations about, but you know again the the weight of the decision won’t say that you know he’s going to have a voice in it but are you sort of playing matchmaker? Well the entire team it’s not just offensively you know again who can come in and and lead the entire team um you know offensively defensively. Obviously, you do have a young quarterback and that’s going to be important in the development of Jackson that he continues to progress uh the way he has and um you know that’s that’s obviously going to weigh heavy into the decision. Joe, what do you view as what do you view as your part in five wins in the last 30 games? Because you said it starts with me. Yeah. But what specifically do you think you have failed on and how is it translating in losses on the field where you say is it drafting? Is it free agency? How do you view it? How do you It’s five wins the last two years, Pat. That’s not good enough. It’s not good enough. Like you can go through I’m not going to make excuses. It’s not good enough. I I don’t want to go through individually um you know different scenarios. There’s context to a lot of things, but it’s five wins. It’s not good enough and and we we’ve got to get better. Do you agree it’s fair to talk about the details a little bit though because like several coaches have lost their jobs now because they weren’t good enough. So what is your part specifically? Yeah, it’s it’s five wins Pat and it’s it’s not good enough. I understand your question and I’m also a realist. I understand. It’s what have you done for me lately? I’ve been in the league for 26 years and it’s not good enough. And we’re going to look at the entire football operation. Everything from free agency decisions, draft decisions, coaching, execution. What can we do better? What can we do better? Because there are pieces here. There are pieces here. Why aren’t we maximizing what we have? And that’s what we’re going to, you know, that’s going to be our mission this offseason to figure that out. You are we not maximizing what we have? I think some people would say you don’t have enough. So I’m asking and that’s fine. That’s where have you erred in that as far as composing the roster, building the roster, keeping draft picks on the roster who have not contributed, who don’t look like they’re going to contribute into the future and who create depth issues on the roster that seem to become glaring issues when these games run. Well, I I’ll just say this, Pat. Like, nobody’s perfect. And, you know, the chances of me batting a thousand are are gone because I’ve made mistakes, okay? Everybody’s going to make mistakes and we’re going to get some things right. As long as you’re learning from those mistakes and you reflect on the process in place and where where you went wrong and you can continue to get better, that’s what’s most important. And I’m better today than I was four years ago when I get this job. And a year from now, God willing, I’m standing here. I’m going to be better than I am today. And that’s all I can do. That’s all I can do. That’s all my staff can do. We continue to evaluate the process where there are some things we did where we missing our process or we strayed from what we believe in. There’s a chance that happened. Okay? Lesson learned. Lesson learned. Don’t make it again. But again, these as you go through it, there there have been a lot of decisions that have have went right. Okay? So, what can we learn from that? As long as we’re learning and continuing to get better and don’t make the same mistakes twice, then that’s progress. And that’s what we’re going to continue to focus on our process to get this organization back where it belongs. Again, it’s the gold standard. It’s still the New York Giants and the greatest city in the world, flagship franchise, great ownership, young quarterback. Like, I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the guys are here. Have I screwed up? Have I made mistakes? Absolutely. Absolutely. But I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. And we’re going to continue to get better. And we’re going to look at everything. Everything. coaching, coordinators, strength. I mean, every single thing, every part of the the organization, and we’re gonna do everything we can to get this thing going in the right direction. Are you prepared, Joe, if once these four games, once the season is over, if John and Steve and anyone else in ownership bring you into a room to prove to them, to convince them that you’re the right guy to move forward as general manager here? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Where do you stray from the process? Can you talk about that? I guess where it sounds like you’ve already kind of evaluated that a little bit. Yeah, sure. No, nobody uh nobody focuses on what went wrong more than me. I’ll just say that like you’re you’re you’re continually beating yourself up because these aren’t it’s not like the head coach and hey, we didn’t get it against uh we didn’t get it last night against New England, but I’m going to go the game plan next week’s going to kick, you know, we’re going to forget everything about you know what happened against New England. like you these are decisions that you know live on and there’s you know whether it’s draft or free agency or hiring a coach um you know you got to live with those decisions and again we’re just going to continually evaluate the process and I do I I know I’m not going to get into details but there’s some early on where we strayed from maybe what we believe in and you know I’ve got to live with that I’ve got to I’ve got to learn from it uh educate my staff on what we can do better and again with the the people we have in the building the collaborative approach And you know, we’re gonna get this thing right. We’re gonna get this thing right. We’re just gonna get it going in the right direction. Possibility that a GM candidate might want to bring in I mean, a coaching candidate might want to have their own GM that they they might not necessarily want to have a pre-existing general manager in place. The calls we’ve gotten, I think we’re going to be able to fill the job.

General manager Joe Schoen speaks to the media Tuesday from the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

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