5:15pm: Stefanski looms as a strong candidate to be dismissed soon, and Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer names him (video link) as a coach to watch closely as the hiring cycle takes shape. Colleague Ralph Vacchiano agrees, and he predicts Stefanski will rise to the top of the Giants’ list of preferred hires if/when he hits the market. Meanwhile, a number of HC candidates have mentioned Stefanski in conversations with Scoop City‘s James Palmer knowing he will be an attractive option for multiple teams. It remains to be seen if the Giants will be one on that front, but that would come as little surprise.
9:33am: Joe Schoen has received praise for modernizing the Giants’ organization, but that has not translated to wins. The Giants will end this season with three or four wins; this follows a 3-14 campaign in which John Mara said his patience had nearly run out. Brian Daboll paid for the Giants’ struggles, but his former Bills coworker has not.
As it stands, Schoen is expected to stay on, with CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones noting his expectation of the embattled GM being given the chance to hire a second coach. One way the Giants could deviate from this planned course: a Trent Baalke-like situation forming.
Last year, the Jaguars had Baalke running their coaching search, keeping the struggling GM after firing Doug Pederson. Weeks into that search, it became clear candidates were expressing hesitancy working with Baalke. This affected the Jags’ pursuit of Ben Johnson, among others. When Liam Coen initially declined a second interview, Shad Khan pulled the plug and fired Baalke. That decision led Coen to Jacksonville. A coach not wanting to work with Schoen could change the Giants’ plans, SI.com’s Albert Breer offers.
Schoen has naturally said he does not anticipate his presence hurting the Giants’ search, but it will be interesting to see if that is the case. The Giants have been one of the NFL’s worst teams over the past nine seasons, qualifying for the playoffs once in that span. They have gone through four full-time HCs since ousting Tom Coughlin. Schoen has been on the job since 2022; the Giants are 12-38 since 2023.
That said, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson notes one expected HC candidate referred to this as the top available job due to the Giants’ rostering Jaxson Dart, some skill-position talent and a formidable defensive line. That D-line, it can be argued, did not play to its potential this season; Dart has also lacked both Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo for most of the year. But those players’ presences stand to help New York’s sales pitches to candidates. Though, plenty of needs exist along this roster.
Mara is battling cancer, and Schoen staying on would give the Giants some stability during this search. Schoen’s 2022 playoff berth being rather fluky notwithstanding, it is clear he has support in the building. It would have to be expected Schoen’s seat would be scorching should he indeed have the chance to hire a second coach, but plenty of names are being connected to this search.
Mike McCarthy, Antonio Pierce, Lou Anarumo and, if he is indeed fired by the Browns, Kevin Stefanski, are among candidates expected to be considered to replace Daboll. The current Bills OC — Joe Brady — is also on the radar, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report.
Brady was not with the Bills when Schoen was in Buffalo, with the ex-Panthers OC arriving as QBs coach weeks after Schoen departed for the Big Apple. Considering the dearth of offense-oriented candidates in this year’s pool, Brady should have plenty of interview opportunities if he indeed wants to leave Buffalo. But the Giants firing a former Josh Allen whisperer only to hire another would be an odd move.
One outside-the-box candidate who could join the lot of aspirants: Davis Webb, per Rapoport and Pelissero. Webb has not yet reached the coordinator level, residing as the Broncos’ QBs coach, but he has an extensive past in New York as a backup/third-string option.
Webb only wrapped his playing career after the 2022 season, being hired on Sean Payton‘s staff. While the Broncos are highly unlikely to lose OC Joe Lombardi — who is not seen as a head coaching candidate — Webb could be poached for an OC position elsewhere. A jump from the position coaching level to HC is highly uncommon, but the Giants appear willing to at least consider the prospect. Webb is just 30.
Even in a league that saw Sean McVay coach the Rams at 31 and Josh McDaniels begin his Broncos HC tenure at 33, this age range is considered a bit young for the job. Webb, though, has seen his stock rise while in Denver. He already earned a prominent assistant job without any previous experience, and the Bills wanted him for their staff before his playing career ended. Webb turned that down to stay on as a Giants backup for one more season; that doubled as Schoen’s first with the team.
Coaches won’t pass on the NYG job because of this GM the way they did for a Jacksonville job with the most cutt throat GM in the business. Schoen hasn’t proven that he is good at his job but he hasn’t proven to be a backstabbing, control hungry egomaniac either. Big difference in these two franchises
‘Joe Schoen has received praise for modernizing the Giants’ organization,…’ Losing & bad drafting is now considered modernizing(?); ok.
The Giants thinking is so progressive that one day they might actually consider having a mascot and cheerleaders.
John Mara won’t make any of these decisions by himself. Robert Tisch and Julia Koch can both tell Mara “clean house or else”.
New York’s richest woman didn’t put $100 million of her family’s money into the Giants just to be a silent partner in an NFL club where a culture of entitlement has outlasted any winning tradition.
Mara should be focusing on his cancer.
Bills fans are all in on the Giants taking Brady, especially of they can rehire Daboll as OC.
PLEASE…no more Bills coaches….we’ve had enough of that formula……
If they hire another Bills OC, especially one with even less experience who hasn’t done a particularly good job, I’m going to scream. Brady took over an already elite offense. He hasn’t done anything innovative and it’s basically the Josh Allen show. Please no.
Boo……Schoen needs to go, should’ve been gone already, why does this guy get a pass ?
How about spags with Pierce and Webb