Presser Points: Quotes & takeaways from season-ending press conferences

Senior Vice President and General Manager Joe Schoen

JOE SCHOEN: Thanks for coming out. Obviously, the three wins are not good enough. But that is what we will spend the next four months doing, between the draft and free agency, upgrading the roster the best we can. We are looking at the organization top to bottom, trying to figure out what’s best moving forward throughout the entire football operation. So, that being said, I’ll open it up for questions.

Q: Who does this fall on, in your mind, in terms of the performance this season?

JOE SCHOEN: First and foremost, myself. We’re not good enough. We didn’t play well enough. I’ve got to do a better job assembling a roster with more talent so we can go out and compete at a higher level. So, I look inward, first and foremost.

Q: I know you thought otherwise when we spoke to you last time about whether you were going to come back. You looked pretty certain you would be back. Did that ever waver? What did you think when you did hear the news earlier today?

JOE SCHOEN: No, that never…

Q: (Head Coach) Brian (Daboll) said he spoke to (President) John (Mara) specifically and he was told he was coming back today.

JOE SCHOEN: It never wavered from last time we were here, from my feelings there.

Q: How much of your future success is tied to bringing in a quarterback here to this offseason?

JOE SCHOEN: It’s the most important position in football. You look at the roster right now, (quarterback) Tommy (DeVito) is the only quarterback on the roster. So, that’s definitely important to any team in the NFL’s success. So, that’s something we’ll definitely be looking at.

Q: What are you going to be looking at? What skills? What kind of characteristics?

JOE SCHOEN: I don’t want to get into specifics on that. But, we’ve done a lot of work on the college guys. John (Mara) mentioned earlier that we’ll look at free agency. We can also look throughout the draft, potential trade opportunities. We’ll look at any avenue we can to upgrade the position. We’ve talked before, in these situations, the film is one part of the equation. But, from a draft standpoint, you really got to get around these kids. I think it’s an important part of our process that we try to get around these kids every year, so when they are free agents or a trade opportunity presents itself, you’ve spent an ample amount of time with these guys on who they are as people and their ability to learn and process information.

Q: Do you have any regrets about not getting a quarterback in the draft last year?

JOE SCHOEN: No, I’m happy with (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) and where he was. The draft class in general… I know those guys played well. They did. They played really well. I think five out of six of those guys played over 50% of the snaps. (Inside linebacker) Darius (Muasau), towards the end, was up around 40% in terms of playtime total. I’m happy with the core foundation that we were able to acquire through last year’s draft. I think those guys will be key pieces moving forward.

Q: On a week-to-week basis late in the season, were you aware of where your draft status was?

Q: So, when you got to one was there any thought in the last couple of games that, ‘We’re at No. 1 here. We need to try to win, but No. 1 looks pretty good if we need a quarterback?’

JOE SCHOEN: You’re always going to go out and try to win. I know John (Mara) addressed that earlier. As long as the New York Giants and the Mara and Tisch families are on board, we’re going to go out and try to win the games. That’s what we believe in.

Q: There’s a thought that when a regime is entering a must-win year where you just were told you’re coming back, that a GM and a coach will act out of self-preservation, spend a lot of money on the best possible team, trade future draft picks to get them. How will you balance that versus that might not be the long-term interest of the Giants? A spending spree om free agency and trading future draft capital.

JOE SCHOEN: I understand the question. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for the Mara family and the Tisch family. I would never do that. I understand we’re going to build this thing the right way. I’m not going to do a Hail Mary for self-preservation or anything like that. We have a plan in place that we believe in and we’re going to stick with that. Again, I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for ownership and what they believe in. We have really good communication with them. They understand where we are and where we’re trying to go. There will be no Hail Mary’s.

Q: Are you concerned you won’t get enough time to fully realize that plan?

Q: What makes you think you can turn it around?

JOE SCHOEN: We’re here. We’re picking third in the draft. As we built this thing, when (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) had the ACL a year ago, not knowing how he was going to come back, we also had to be conscious of what may be on the horizon. So, you’re working on parallel tracks. So, we’re sitting here with 40-plus million dollars in cap space and over 100 the following year. So, some teams are in this situation where maybe they need a quarterback and they don’t have the financial pieces or the draft resources. So, we are in good shape from that standpoint in terms of improving the roster via free agency, trades, or through the draft. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the people in the building, the process and I’ve got a lot of faith in the plan that we have in place moving forward.

Q: Are you under the belief that you need to make the playoffs next year?

JOE SCHOEN: No. Again, we’ve got to continue to build it the right way. If we have a really good roster and you get close and… I think John (Mara) said it to you guys earlier, it’s about progress. We’re at three wins. We didn’t make progress in the direction we wanted to this year and it’s not good enough. It starts with me and I understand that. But, to have an ultimatum, ‘You make the playoffs or you don’t,’ that changes things. But, that’s not it. John (Mara) believes in the people in the building and (Chairman) Steve (Tisch) and they’re giving us the ability to build it the right way.

Q: What were your conversations like with John (Mara) on Friday?

JOE SCHOEN: (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) was in there, too. We’re going to keep those conversations private. But, they were productive, good communication like what we always have. I talk to John on a daily basis. So, Friday wasn’t some out-of-the-ordinary situation. We have good conversation all the time, whether it’s at practice, in the building, on the phone or whatever it is. We have constant communication.

Q: You referenced you have faith in your plan that obviously, on the outside, it looks like it’s going backwards with nine, six, three wins. What is that? What can you articulate that is going to give faith to the fans that are obviously paying money to come to these games, that it is going to be different?

JOE SCHOEN: I understand your question. Again, it goes back to a little bit of what I said. We’re not digging ourselves out of a financial hole or a lack of draft capital. We made a decision with Daniel (Jones) after the playoff run. The way we structured the contract was we were going to do the best we can to try to surround him with weapons, upgrade the offensive line, which we did this year, and see how far we could go with Daniel (Jones). Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But, at the same time, our hands aren’t tied behind our back. Financially, we’re in good shape. We’re in a good salary cap situation. We have draft capital to make changes. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the plan, the people in this building and our process that we’ll do that.

Q: I know it’s early. How would you evaluate this current quarterback class?

JOE SCHOEN: I don’t want to get into specifics on that. We’ve done a lot of work. Again, until we get to February and early March in the combine and can get around these guys, that’s when the opinions really start to take shape. Once you get into March and early April and you can get around the kids.

Q: Is it concerning at all that there are two teams ahead of you that potentially could need a quarterback?

JOE SCHOEN: We’ve got to control what we can control. Nothing we can do about that.

Q: What did you think when you saw (quarterback) Shedeur (Sanders) throwing the ball with Malik (Nabers) in the streets?

JOE SCHOEN: That one caught me off guard. Obviously I knew the Heisman Trophy ceremony was in town. I didn’t even realize that Shedeur (Sanders) would be in that. I guess he was supporting (cornerback/wide receiver) Travis (Hunter). But, that was cool. Unexpected. But, the fact that those two have a relationship, that was… I had not seen that before, an NFL receiver and a quarterback prospect playing catch in New York City. So, that was interesting.

Q: Shedeur (Sanders) then, when the week you guys had the number one pick, said something like, ‘You can’t go higher than No. 1. I already know where I’m going.’ It makes people wonder if you’ve given Shedeur’s (Sanders) camp any indication that he’s your guy.

JOE SCHOEN: No, we haven’t had any conversations with his camp on any of that stuff. We don’t really control any of that stuff. So, again, we’ve got to control what we can control.

Q: Both John (Mara) and the players spoke about the positives of continuity. But, when the results aren’t there record-wise in the direction you want, what benefits do you get from a continuity in GM and Head Coach?

JOE SCHOEN: Again, we’re trying to build this still. I know I spoke at the bye week. I believe it was 18 of 22 starters coming back. When you first get here and where we were from a salary cap standpoint and trying to prioritize how you were going to build it, where you were going to address certain things, it takes time to get to this point. We were talking to some of the defensive guys today in our exit interviews, (inside linebacker) Bobby O (Bobby Okereke), for example, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, he’s on four different defenses in four years. As you’re talking to these guys and you realize how hard it is to learn some of these new systems. You’ve got young guys that are getting their feet wet that are just finally starting to feel comfortable in the systems now. So, I do think it’s important. This is hard and it takes time. I think the continuity factor is important. Hopefully we see that come to fruition in 2025.

Q: Why are you and Brian (Daboll) doing separate pressers today? It seemed like in the past, at this juncture, you guys took questions and did this together…

JOE SCHOEN: I’ve been in six hours of meetings today. You can talk to (Senior Director of Football Communications) Dion (Dargin) about that afterwards. I’ve been pretty busy, just came up for air.

Q: You had ten different offensive line combinations this year, which was tied for the most of the league. Last year you had the same thing. I know one of the things you talked about when you first came here was solidifying the offensive line. Where do you think you are in that respect and how important is it to galvanize that group?

JOE SCHOEN: That’s a good question. I felt pretty good about it through the first six weeks and when (tackle) A.T. (Andrew Thomas) went down, he’s… There are certain players on your roster that are difficult to replace and I would put him in that category. So, when we were rolling with those six guys, I felt good about it. We made significant gains in terms of the amount of sacks, I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I think we cut it in half or close to cut it in half compared to a year ago. So, I did feel good about the offensive line up until that point. Then I would even say after the bye week, once we had some more injuries, I think we’ve given up 14 sacks and six of those came against Dallas. In the last two weeks we didn’t give up any sacks. So, not as bad as the year before. I do think there’s some improvements. Again, for the last two weeks to not give up any sacks, with the different amounts of guys that were in there. So, I do think it’s better. All the guys are coming back except for (guard) GVR (Greg Van Roten) and (guard Aaron) Stinnie are the two UFAs (un-restricted free agents) amongst that group, (tackle Chris) Hubbard as well. So, there’ll be good competition there. Obviously, the right guard spot is open and that’s something that we can look to address. But, I thought (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) played well when he was at right tackle. He really helped us out by moving to left tackle and showing his versatility was good. (Guard) Jon Runyan (Jr.), again, you try to sign these guys and you look at the durability and you try to sign guys that are going to be healthy. He hasn’t missed a game in four years and you sign him and he comes from a winning organization and provided really good leadership for us. He was injured. Then (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) had the injury, as well. So, you’d hope one of these years the injury gods would take care of us and we could be healthy the entire season up front. You watch these games on Sundays, as you get late into December, and you’re looking at these offensive lines, you’re like, ‘Gosh dang, that’s their starting five.’ It’d be nice to have in December. Again, that’ll always be a priority for us moving forward. It was tough last year in 2023, the way we played. It was part of the offseason priority this year. I feel good about the four that we have coming back and the depth and the competition we’ll have.

Q: When you look at your draft class this year, we know how productive they’ve been. You obviously talked about it, but John (Mara) also mentioned it. The process you used this year with this draft, is it the same process or how has that changed from year one to year two and then year two to year three for you, your department, for scouting and everything else?

JOE SCHOEN: Year one you come in and you really… (Assistant General Manager) Brandon Brown was the only addition for that first draft. So, you’re working with a room full of people that you’re still trying to figure out. Some guys are really good at background. Some are really good at scouting and evaluation and the round value. You’re trying to figure that out year one. Year two we made some changes. We brought in (Director of Pro Scouting) Chris Rossetti and (Assistant Director of Player Personnel) Dennis Hickey. (Executive Advisor to the General Manager Ryan) Cowden came on board this past year. So, the process isn’t much different. I’m still learning, always learning. I think that’s important. I reflect on some of the decisions we made and maybe where there was a blind spot or I turned a blind eye to some things that I learned from. I think that’s important in year three. There’s a good process in place and the right people in place. I got a great scouting staff. It’s unique that we took a player from each scout’s area. So, each scout of our road scouts, who do a phenomenal job, are represented in that draft class. So, our scouting staff is where we want it, pro and college staff. Again, I got a lot of faith in the people in there. I think you saw the results from the draft class this past year.

Q: Do you let yourself go back and think if you had your process before this class… Are there things you looked at that maybe would’ve been different in those first two draft classes if you had this team together the way you have it set up right now?

JOE SCHOEN: That’s what keeps you up at night. You’re always evaluating everything. You want to be perfect and you’re dealing with the ultimate equalizer in human beings and people and how they’re going to react in different situations and the big city and the lights and the media and the pressure of playing in the city. So, as we continue to do it, we’re going to continue to sharpen our process. Again, I believe in the process and the people in the building. You just got to learn. If you do make mistakes, I think you reflect on it, you own it and you learn from it. Those experiences will only help you as you move forward in those draft meetings. That’s an important part of some of the experience that I have on my staff. Brandon Brown can say, ‘Well, when I was in Philly, we did this.’ Or Ryan Cowden can say, ‘When I was in Tennessee, we did this.’ Or Dennis Hickey, ‘When I was a GM…’ Some of that, experience comes in, mixed in with some of our youth, is really helpful as you’re going through these decisions and trying to make the right decisions.

Q: John (Mara) talked to us about how the defense is something that he was really concerned with. So, for you, how do you go about fixing this defense?

JOE SCHOEN: Dabs (Brian Daboll) and I, we’ll go through those conversations here over the next couple weeks. We’re going to take a step back and look at it. Is it scheme? Is it personnel? Is it run fits? Or is some of it players too? We’re going to look at all three phases and where we need to upgrade and how we can get better.

Q: It’s no secret you guys made a pretty significant draft resource investment in (wide receiver) Jalin Hyatt in trading up to get him. It hasn’t worked out. Playing time, he’s not happy. He said, ‘We’ll see,’ when we asked about his future. How do you see Jalin Hyatt’s future and how can he become more involved?

JOE SCHOEN: Yeah, I’d heard that. So I called him and… He had to get something done so we weren’t able to talk to him yet. So, I asked him about that and his take on it was there was a question about (wide receiver) Darius (Slayton). If Darius (Slayton) wasn’t here, I think that was the, ‘We’ll see,’ comment, if Darius Slayton wasn’t here. But, I still got a lot of confidence in Jalin. Some of it comes down to his skill set, utilizing his skill set. He’s a vertical guy that can take the top off and can run. He’s an explosive playmaker. So, part of it starts with getting somebody in here that can hopefully utilize his skill set. With (wide receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) in the slot, he had 93 catches. You guys saw (Malik) Nabers this year. Then also having a vertical guy that can take the top off. (Tight end) Theo (Johnson) had a really good rookie season. Really came on, really improved, really excited about him. Then you saw what (running back Tyrone) Tracy did. So, there’s some young core pieces on offense that have different skill sets that can provide some explosive plays. Get the right quarterback in here and hopefully we can utilize him.

Q: So, you invested a lot in the quarterback position, obviously, and the results were this year. So, what gives you the confidence that you have what it takes to evaluate the position and get it right this time?

JOE SCHOEN: I wouldn’t change what we did. When I reflect on how that went down with Daniel (Jones), again, it’s the information you have. We had just won ten games. You won a road playoff game. I just watched Dabs (Brian Daboll) for four years at Buffalo with Josh Allen. The year before that with Jalen (Hurts) and Tua (Tagovailoa) at Alabama. So, I’ve got a lot of confidence in the coaching staff. Again, I’ve got a lot of confidence in our process. We’ve done these quarterback deep dives the last two or three years, and, I would say the players that we were high on have went on to have solid rookie years or second years, whatever it may be. So, again, a lot of faith in my staff, a lot of faith in the coaching staff whether it’s the draft or free agency or who we sign, that they would be able to develop them. I wish it would have worked out with Daniel (Jones), but it didn’t. But it doesn’t deter me from taking one and having a lot of faith in the people that are in place to develop whoever it is.

Q: Evan Neal, you guys have been reluctant to move him to guard? Do you think that would be on the table?

JOE SCHOEN: We didn’t speak with him about that today. Again, those will be off-season conversations if that’s something that we decide. But that didn’t come up in our conversations with Evan (Neal) today. All right.