Giants to hire Joe Schoen as general manager: 10 things to know
The New York Giants will hire Joe Schoen to be their new general manager, replacing the “retired” Dave Gettleman.
Here are 10 quick things Giants fans should know about the team’s new GM.
Schoen was a player in college
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Schoen, 42, was a quarterback during his freshman season at DePauw University in Indiana in the late 1990s and then switched to wide receiver for his final three years. He was a team captain during his senior season. He graduated in 2001 with a communications degree.
His first NFL job
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Schoen’s first NFL job was with the Carolina Panthers as an intern in their ticket office in 2000. He was then hired by the Panthers to work in their scouting department, where he worked under current Buffalo Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane as a scout until 2007.
The Miami Years
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Schoen moved on to the Miami Dolphins in 2008 as one of the Dolphins’ national scouts before becoming their assistant director of college scouting in 2013. It was there that Schoen got his first experience in the drafting process. He served as their director of player personnel from 2014 through 2016.
Shuffling off to Buffalo
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In 2017, Schoen was hired to become the Bills’ assistant general manager under Beane, who was hired off Dave Gettleman’s staff in Carolina to the GM position.
Schoen was dedicated from the start
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As per longtime Bills’ beat reporter Vic Carucci:
In his final months before graduation in 2001, Schoen had an offer to work for Stryker, a medical technologies company based in Kalamazoo, Mich. It called for a base salary of $45,000 and a $4,000 signing bonus. [Brandon] Beane was talking about an entry-level scouting position with the Panthers that would pay $10 an hour.
“I don’t have a dollar to my name,” Schoen says. “My buddies who are working for (Stryker) are telling me, ‘After two years, if you’re doing your job, you’ll be making $200,000.’ That afternoon, while I’m here, someone from Stryker called me to say, ‘If you haven’t decided you’re going to accept the offer, we’re going to take it off the table.’ I was so torn.”
Influenced by Parcells
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During his years in Miami, Schoen worked under Bill Parcells, who served as the Dolphins’ VP of football operations.
“When you’re around him, he’s always coaching,” Schoen said of the former two-time Super Bowl-winning coach. “I was a national scout at the time, didn’t know him from Adam, and we’d be in a meeting and he’d say, ‘You know what Tom Landry used to tell me?’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God! Tom Landry, Bill Parcells, and he’s about to tell me something that they talked about?’
“I was always typing stuff, writing stuff down. He gave so much information. It was just awesome to be around him. You know he’s a Hall of Famer, you know he’s one of the best ever, but then when you’re around him, you see how genuine he is as a person. He treated us all the same, he enjoyed being around us.”
Beane holds him in high regard
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Beane has always had faith in Schoen and believes he will be an excellent general manager.
“He’s going to be a GM. The thing about him is that he’s smart enough to know that he’s still learning and growing, and he’s trying to get stronger at his craft. …” Beane said as per the Athletic.
“Instead of just rushing to the seat and then trying to figure it out, Joe’s that guy who wants to have all the answers to the test before he goes and sits down. Very few people are like that. There’s so many people in this business that are just trying to get into that head coach seat, that GM seat, and maybe they’re not ready for it. I have no doubt he’s going to be ready for it. He’s a great communicator. He understands people. You’re not going to outwork him.”
Miami highlights
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Some players that the Dolphins brought in during Schoen’s tenure in Miami include Jake Long, Vontae Davis, Mike Pouncey, Lamar Miller, Olivier Vernon, Ryan Tannehill, Jarvis Landry, Devante Parker, Jay Ajayi, Bobby McCain, Xavien Howard, Laremy Tunsil and Kenyan Drake.
Buffalo highlights
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Some players the Bills have brought in during Schoen’s tenure in Buffalo include Josh Allen, Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins, Tremaine Edmunds, Ed Oliver A.J. Epenesa, Gabriel Davis, Devin Singletary, Dawson Know, Tyler Bass, Cody Ford and Zack Moss.
Of the 37 players the Bills drafted since Schoen arrived in 2017, only one is no longer in the NFL.
Other teams are interested
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Cleveland was interested in Schoen as recently as two seasons ago. This year, the Giants drove hard to the hoop, as did the Chicago Bears. Teams are enamored with Beane’s success and they know that Schoen is Beane’s “go-to” guy.
The Bears, like the Giants, are developing a young quarterback and so are the Bears. The hope is that Schoen would bring along Bills’ OC Brian Daboll as a package deal.
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