Senior Bowl is a fascinating week on the NFL calendar. After flocking to Mobile, Ala., to cover each day of the practice week, GMs, scouts, coaches, agents and media rarely stay for the game. And this week, no one returned home with a shorter leash than Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll.
The Giants’ general manager and head coach face the unique and daunting task of drafting to save their jobs, according to The Athletic senior NFL insider Dianna Russini. While in Mobile this week, Russini saw signs that Schoen and Daboll are not only locked in to select a quarterback — they have the No. 3 overall pick — but obviously motivated.
“Based on what we saw this past season,” Russini said on Thursday’s Scoop City podcast, “how it all unfolded, and also bigger picture, the short leash they’re on based on how we saw the end of the year play out, knowing that their owner John Mara brought them back, and it appeared to pain him a bit.
“I think this is going to be a really difficult season for both Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll. I don’t think they’re really being put in a great position here from a support system in New York, because everyone knows that if they start losing out of the gate, they’re going to probably lose their jobs.”
Mara didn’t mince words on Jan. 6 in explaining the timeline of expectations for Schoen and Daboll, each entering the fourth year of their respective New York tenures. So far, they’re 19-33-1, including the postseason.
“It better not take too long,” Mara said, “because I’ve just about run out of patience.”
And with New York minutes on the clock, what’s also captivating is how that pressure affects the decisions Daboll and Schoen make over the next 85 days through free agency and the draft. Will they reach for a quarterback with the third pick or — even more intriguing – will they trade up with the Titans or Browns and sacrifice valuable future captial? Or, will they overpay for a veteran like Sam Darnold, committing future salary-cap space? Schoen and Daboll may not be with the team when the results of those decisions mature to fruition.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the New York Giants were a team that we see call the Titans,” Russini added. “Why wouldn’t they call the Titans if there was a quarterback that they wanted to make sure they get?”
The other fascinating factor is that the consensus top-two quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, aren’t as good as any of the six quarterbacks taken among the top 12 selections in the 2024 draft, according to prevailing opinions. Would Mara even allow the Giants to pay the steep price to guarantee a player like Ward is in camp with Malik Nabers in July?
“Just think about that concept,” Russini said, “where a team is allowing this tandem to make such a big decision. But what’s on the table for these guys is their future in New York, and they’re going to try to do whatever they can to try to get a quarterback because it’s the only way I think they can save their jobs. Because it’s worth the risk of moving up, getting that quarterback, and hoping it works out, and hoping he’s a stud.”
Hope isn’t much of a strategy and if he’s not a stud, Mara could be stuck in a nightmare pattern of firing head coaches who drafted failed rookie quarterbacks. The Chicago Bears have been fighting to escape that spiral for more than seven years. Since Chicago drafted Mitch Trubisky in 2017 and fired John Fox after Trubisky’s rookie year, the Bears have since drafted Justin Fields just before firing Matt Nagy, and drafted Caleb Williams just before firing Matt Eberflus.
If that happens for the Giants, at least it won’t be as bad as watching Saquon Barkley lead the Eagles against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
For more information on the Giants or the draft, visit the N.Y. Giants team page and the NFL Draft page at ProFootballPost.com.
Discover more from Pro Football Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.