EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants have hired Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen as their new general manager. He replaces Dave Gettleman, who retired last week after a four-year stint that produced a 19-46 record.
Schoen becomes just the Giants’ fifth general manager in the past 41 years. His first order of business will be to drive the organization’s search for a new head coach.Joe Judge was the third straight New York coach to be fired after two seasons or less when he was dismissed after a 4-13 campaign.
“Now, the work begins,” Schoen said in a statement. “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.”
The Giants are expected to request permission to speak with former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores for the opening, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Flores’ first choice of jobs would be the Giants, a source told Raanan. Flores is from Brooklyn and the Giants gig would represent a homecoming. He has already interviewed with Houston and Chicago.
The Giants also expected to speak with Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, amongst others, sources told Schefter.
Hiring a coach will just be the beginning for Schoen, as he has to fix a franchise that is tied for the worst record (22-59) over the past five seasons with the New York Jets. League sources have indicated that the Giants painted the impression with candidates that next GM will receive sort of a carte blanche to reshape the structure of the organization as needed.
Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, Schoen and San Francisco 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters were the three known finalists for the job.
Schoen has worked closely with Bills general manager Brandon Beane building Buffalo into a powerhouse in recent years. The Bills won their second consecutive AFC East title this season and are set to play the Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC divisional round playoff game.
A former quarterback/wide receiver at DePauw University, Schoen was part of the group that selected quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. The Giants grabbed running back Saquon Barkley that year at No. 2 overall. It was a franchise-changing decision for Buffalo, which has recorded double-digit wins each of the past three seasons.
Schoen’s career began in 2000 as an intern in the Carolina Panthers‘ ticket department. He worked his way up the ladder from there, spending time in personnel with the Panthers, Dolphins and Bills. He rose to director of player personnel with the Dolphins under Bill Parcells, then reunited with Beane, his former co-worker in Carolina, in Buffalo.
Schoen has worked extensively with the analytics, personnel and football operations, and has been described by co-workers as someone who “never stops working.” He also interviewed with the Chicago Bears and was involved in the Panthers general manager search last year.