If you have to describe the mood at the Quesr Diagnostic Center as the New York Giants introduced new GM Joe Schoen to the media would be one of optimisim. I know, we have said this before but Joe cool made quite the impression to everyone on his first day.
“I don’t take this job lightly” said Schoen. “I fully understand the responsibility that comes with being the general manager of the New York Football Giants. I would tell you this, throughout the interview process it became very clear early on John’s and Steve’s passion for bringing a winning football program to the tri-state area. I was assured that I would be given every resource I needed in order to do that, and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to build a team that will make you proud on the field and off the field. We will look at every avenue to upgrade the roster, add depth, competition and bring the right type of people into the organization.”
Yes, I know we have heard simialr words in the past during past press conferences but Joe’s track record seems a little different. Maybe because of where Schoen has been and what he has accomplished, this feels different.
Here are some of the highlights of todays press conference:
Schoen on Daniel Jones:
“I’ve looked at Daniel and once the new staff gets in here, we’re going to get together – offensive coordinator, head coach, the entire staff – dive into the film as a group and look at what Daniel does best and we’re going to try to allow him to put his best foot forward. Again, I’ve looked at him. I wasn’t here in the past, so I don’t exactly know what he was told to do, but I do know this, I know he’s a great kid, he’s been in this building the last two days, I’ve talked to him. There’s not anybody in this building that’s said a bad word about his work ethic, passion, desire to win. I think you’ve got to have those traits as a quarterback, and the kid has physical ability, he’s got arm strength, he’s athletic, he can run. I’m really excited to work with Daniel and, again, when the new staff gets in here, we’ll build an offense around Daniel to accentuate what he does best.”
Schoen on Head Coach Search:
“That’s a good question. First off, leadership. You’ve got to be able to lead the team. I think you have to be able to put together a good staff. I think it’s imperative that you have coaches that have coached in the NFL that have a proven track record. I think you’ve got to be able to develop players. We have (nine) draft picks. It’s going to be important that some of those young players may have to be major contributors for us in 2022, so the willingness to play young players. I think intelligence is important. I think being progressive in your approach to coaching, whether it’s with analytics, when to go, when not to go, when to punt. I think you’ve got be open to all that stuff. You’ve got to be open to sports performance, strength and conditioning. You’ve got to listen to the experts in their field. Those are some of the major qualities that I’m looking for as we move forward.”
Schoen on Head Coach Canidates:
“All of our candidates bring a different skillset to the table. I’m not concerned if they’ve been a head coach before or if they haven’t. I’m concerned with getting the best head coach for the New York Giants. If they’ve had previous coaching experience, fine. If they don’t, that’s fine. Again, Brian Daboll I’ve worked with, I know (Cowboys Defensive Coordinator) Dan Quinn, I’ve got a lot of respect for him. Brian Flores is coming in. I know a lot of people in Miami, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him. Specifically on Brian, he’s got good qualities just like the rest of the candidates, so I don’t want to speak on anything specific on him. But, again, it’s going to be imperative that it’s somebody that’s in lockstep with me that I can work with, we can have constant communication and we’re going to be aligned in our vision as we build a football team.”
Schoen on the Measurement of Success:
“It’s really just about progress. We need to see progress, we need to see the team getting better, we need to see competition, we need to see the offense get better, we need to see the defense get better. We want to see progress throughout the entire football operation is what we’re looking for. We’re not going to make any playoff statements or anything like that. We just want to see progress and see that we’re building to something in the future and we’re going to build the foundation as soon as we can.”
Schoen on The Teams Vision and Goal:
“Again, what we’ll do is get together as a staff, be very clear with your defined rules that you want in each player. That makes it easier for all the scouts to go find those types of players. We’re going to want to be smart, tough and dependable. We’re going to want guys that want to do the right things – team players, selfless in the approach for a championship. We’re going to have a concerted effort through free agency, draft or whatever it is to get the right types of guys in here that have the DNA, that have talent, that have character and that have the right habits. I think if you have enough of those guys that also have talent, you’re going to have a good football team.”
Schoen On His Relationship with Bill Parcells:
“Yeah, Bill told me it’s the best job in the league. That was what some of the advice he gave me when I talked to him. I could go on and on about Coach. I know why he was such a good coach because he understood personnel and he understood the X’s and O’s and he was a great teacher. I got him probably on the back nine of his career. He was a constant teacher, always talking to me. I’ve said this several times, he would say, ‘You know what Tom Landry used to tell me, Joe’ – I’m just a young scout and you’re on the edge of your seat, like Tom Landry told Bill Parcells and he’s getting ready to tell me. All the stories he has, he understood personnel. Philosophically, maybe he’s a little bit different. He hasn’t evolved to where maybe the game is today, but I learned a lot from him just how to build a roster, what to look for in different positions, what to look for in head coaches. You better know what you want on your roster because coaches are going to come and go. It’s just the volatility of the industry. I love Coach to death. He’s been awesome to me. He still calls me every now and then. I can pick up my phone and call him and he’ll answer. He’s not afraid to call on a Monday after a game and give his two cents on the roster and what we need when I was in Buffalo, so a ton of respect for Coach and I love him to death.”
