Joe Schoen Named General Manager Of New York Giants
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - There's big football news Friday.
The New York Giants have hired a new general manager, taking the first step in rebuilding the struggling franchise, and he's got an impressive resume.
As CBS2's Otis Livingston reports, the brief search is over. The Giants have got their man, and it's former Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen.
Schoen beat out Adam Peters and Ryan Poles in the three man chase, and becomes just the fifth Giants GM in the past 43 years.
Since become the Bills assistant GM in 2017, the Bills have gone to the playoffs five out of the past six years after not going for 17 years prior to that.
Now that Schoen is in place, the search for a head coach begins.
"It is an honor to accept the position of general manager of the New York Giants," said Schoen. "I want to thank John Mara and Steve Tisch and their families for this tremendous opportunity. And obviously I am grateful to Brandon and the Bills for the experience I have had in Buffalo.
"Now, the work begins. My immediate focus is to hire a head coach, with who I will work in lockstep with to create a collaborative environment for our football operations. We will cast a wide net, it can be former head coaches, first-time head coaches but, more importantly, it has to be a person who possesses the ability to lead an organization and the ability to motivate and develop players. On the personnel side, we will begin to evaluate our roster and prepare for the draft and free agency. Our goal is to build a roster that will be competitive, have depth, and most importantly, win football games."
Here's something that Giant fans will be encouraged to hear: People who have worked with Schoen describe him as someone who "never stops working," and he's got a big job ahead of him. The Giants are tied for the worst record in the past five years with the New York Jets.
"We are pleased and proud to name Joe as our general manager," said Giants president John Mara. "Throughout our search, Joe impressed us with his ability to communicate a progressive and comprehensive vision for our team. His philosophy and collaborative approach to building a roster and coaching staff align with what we were looking for in a general manager."
"Joe is the kind of exceptional leader we sought to oversee our football operations," said chairman Steve Tisch. "We will do whatever it takes to support Joe's vision and strategic plan for success. We are excited to begin this next chapter with Joe as our general manager."
Schoen was the first of nine candidates interviewed for the position.
"Steve and I were both impressed with all nine candidates," said John Mara. "We came away from this process feeling like all nine will be a general manager in this league at some point. We just felt like Joe was the right fit at the right time for us."
