Giants extend GM Joe Schoen: Multi-year contract keeps front office intact to begin John Harbaugh era

The New York Giants kept their front office intact amid a coaching change earlier this offseason, and now they are locking it in for the long term. General manager Joe Schoen signed a multi-year extension with the team, the Giants announced Thursday, to retain the position he has held since 2022.

While the Giants remain in search of their first playoff appearance since Schoen's debut season, they enter 2026 with momentum and clearly want to give Schoen a chance to see things through with the promising players he added over the last couple of years.

The extension, however, figures to draw mixed reviews at best from a Giants fanbase that made its frustrations with Schoen known over the last three years of struggles. Questions arose during the four-win 2025 campaign about whether Schoen was more to blame for the Giants' struggles than coach Brian Daboll, who lost his job in November. And when team owner and president John Mara chose to keep Schoen on board, it appeared the franchise had lost direction.

"We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development," Mara said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the results over the past three years have not been what any of us want. We take full responsibility for those results and look forward to the kind of success our fans expect."

A string of successful draft picks paired with the arrival of coach John Harbaugh brightens the outlook for New York in 2026 and beyond, and Schoen will have every opportunity to reap the rewards. But his spotty track record with roster building -- including whiffs on a pair of top-10 picks in 2022 and a then-questionable contract for quarterback Daniel Jones -- suggests things could turn back the other direction.

Recent draft classes deliver optimism

While his selections of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal did not age as well as the No. 5 and No. 7 picks should have, Schoen rebuilt some draft goodwill over the last few offseasons. What his initial first-round picks lacked in star production, his 2024 and 2025 classes made up for in early on-field success.

Malik Nabers -- the No. 6 pick in 2024 -- earned a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie after racking up 109 catches and 1,204 receiving yards. Although he missed all but four games last year with a torn ACL, he is a cornerstone of this young roster heading into Year 3 and should be expected to contend among the league leaders in pass-catching.

Last year's haul was even more spectacular. First-round edge rusher Abdul Carter finished fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, No. 25 overall pick Jaxson Dart flourished as one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the league and Cam Skattebo asserted himself as a fourth-round gem before he sustained a devastating season-ending leg injury.

Another flurry of exciting rookies arrived this spring when Schoen constructed one of the more highly regarded classes in the league. If headliners Arvell Reese, Francis Maugioa and Colton Hood hit like the early-round picks that preceded them each of the two years prior, Schoen might suddenly have himself a sparkly new reputation as a drafter.

Schoen, Harbaugh to work in tandem

The extension and inherent trust in Schoen go one step further in downplaying the impact Harbaugh will have on roster management decisions. Still, collaboration will define decisions so long as the revered coach is in town, as he will report directly to ownership and not to Schoen. Everyone inside the building has insisted that the new chain of command will not have a dramatic impact on individual job roles.

"I think it's kind of overblown a little bit in terms of how it works," Harbaugh said to The Athletic. "The main thing is that it works and that we work together. That's what matters. That's kind of what I was used to. It felt like a good way to start off. Mr. Mara was happy about that. It seemed like it made sense, but I don't think it really matters. We're all gonna work together, and I promise we all report to the boss, and the boss is ownership."

According to ESPN, the Giants have long planned for Schoen and Harbaugh to work in collaboration for the foreseeable future. Now, there is a timeline on what the "foreseeable future" actually means.