Bruce Noble asks: Ed, would you please expound a bit on the relative historical success or failure of the organizational structure that the Giants are now using? I know that there are likely variations, but even if you “dumb it down” to a “yes/no” where the HC is or is not essentially in charge of all football decisions, it might shed a light on the Giants future, or at least be a fun read!
Ed says: Bruce, I can’t do an exhaustive study of this right now. I can say that a coach-centric structure is unique
to the Giants, but not to the NFL. Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams, Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs, Bill Belichick for all those years with the New England Patriots, Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos are all teams where the coach is or was the most important figure in the organization. I know there are others, but those come quickly to mind.
Any structure can work if you have the right people and they are committed to it.
John Kozel asks: Hi Ed. I’m hoping you can explain to me the way Joe Schoen operates. He seems to have a manual saying which positions are of highest value and spends his money accordingly. OK by me. What I don’t understand is why the same ranking does not apply to high draft picks. First he let Barkley then McKinney go because of not wanting to overpay for those positions. Now it sounds like Wandale Robinson is getting the same treatment. Schoen used a second rounder on Robinson and once McKinney left, he used a second rounder on Nubin. I think you should want to hold onto your most talented selections but if you don’t want to pay them because of where they play, why did you select them so high? Seems like a disconnect in his thinking. Once they show the talent you drafted them for, he moves on. Confusing.
Ed says: John, all NFL teams operate with some level of belief in positional value and a hierarchy of what those are. Quarterback is at the top. Long-snapper at the bottom. Here is one way to measure it.
You’re mixing things up here a bit. Schoen did not draft Saquon Barkley or Xavier McKinney. You can’t see he drafted them and wouldn’t pay them because that is not true.
I don’t know where you are coming from with the Wan’Dale Robinson stuff. Nobody knows what is going to happen there. All we know is that the Giants want him back. When Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh talked to the media this week they didn’t know what the price would be.
Michael Guyette asks: I haven’t seen any chatter about Connor McGovern as it relates to the Giants. Seems like he would be a really solid backup option (and upgrade over JMS) if they can’t get Linderbaum. Thoughts?
Ed says: Michael, I would be surprised if the Giants a free agent center other than Tyler Linderbaum. John Michael Schmitz is not a bad player, he’s just not Linderbaum. If the Giants can’t get Linderbaum I think they spend their money elsewhere.
Richard Repasky asks: You write “Schoen is no longer driving the bus.” What then is he doing? Do you think the Giants will be showing him the door in 2026?
Ed says: Richard, I don’t know what will happen with GM Joe Schoen going forward. I do think it is a situation that needs to be monitored. What is he doing? Prepping for free agency and the draft, scouting players, talking to agents. The stuff general managers do. When I say he is not driving the bus that simply means that it is pretty clear Harbaugh’s opinion will carry the day when final decisions need to be made.
John DeJesus asks: Big fan of the site and your coverage of the Giants. I was curious if the Giants would consider drafting Styles at 5? While he is considered the second LB prospect behind Reese, everything that I have seen and read would indicate he would be a great fit for the Giants. If they were to move on from Bobby O, could you see them going this route? Could they possibly trade down a couple of spots and get him at 7 or 8?
Ed says: John, I absolutely believe Sonny Styles could be in play at No. 5. Read this.
Martin Hand asks: Ed, are there predictive measures for athletes who participate or decline participation in activities at the annual combine? As I recall, Evan Neal declined participation and we can all see how that turned out… I understand that if a person is projected as a top pick, there is no place for them to go but downward… I also am wondering if there are certain drills that have predictive ability for certain position group groups… That is, does the shuttle have predictive power for offensive lineman?… as it seems to be able to predict lateral movement ability.
Ed says: Martin, deciding whether or not to work out at the Combine has become an individual decision for many of the players expected to be selected near the top of the draft. Can they prove anything? Will it benefit them? If it can’t help them, why perform in the drills? Is there a point for someone like Fernando Mendoza to work out? I don’t think there is a way to measure the impact of that decision, if there really is one.
As for the drills, I refer you to this post from BBV’s Chris Pflum.
Donald Poucher asks: Two questions if I may…I haven’t heard the name Josh Ezeudu brought up since he went down with an injury. He certainly is not a tackle but he flashed some talent at guard. Do you think he has a chance to be resigned if only for depth on the OL? Second, with Harbaugh’s extensive use of 12 personnel, do you see any chance of resigning Bellinger? I like the player and believe he was misused by the previous staff. I don’t see him coming back unless they give him TE 1 money. What do you think?
Ed says: Donald, I did not expect to be answering a Josh Ezeudu question. I would be very surprised if the Giants brought Ezeudu back. I think using him as a tackle was always a mistake, and probably hurt his chance at becoming a real option for them at guard. Then again, he failed at guard before they tried him outside.
As for Daniel Bellinger, I doubt he is back. Even though Harbaugh did mention Bellinger during his Combine press conference I think Bellinger is going to find a better opportunity elsewhere.
Joel Friedberg asks: Mbow played pretty well last season especially as a rookie. But he did get overpowered sometime. He is 6’5” and weighs 305 pounds. Is it unrealistic to think he can gain 10-20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and come at 315-325 pounds and much stronger. I feel if he did this he could be a very good young piece of the o-line for many years to come.
Your thoughts?
Ed says: Joel, no that isn’t unrealistic. I would expect Marcus Mbow to be diligently trying to get stronger this offseason. What I do think is unrealistic would be for John Harbaugh to hand a job to a relatively untested young player he knows nothing about.
Now, if Mbow wins one somewhere along the line in the next year or two and plays well that is undoubtedly a good thing.
Douglas Furth asks: Ed, I have a question as a season ticket holder. I guess I could ask the Giants, but I think a lot of people might want to know.
If one of the Giants home games is played abroad, I get one fewer game which is no skin off of my back. Most years I go to about 5 games and give away or sell the rest. There are always some conflicts with the real world. I prefer to give them to friends but when the Giants truly stink, games at the end of the season can be hard even to give away. Hopefully cold weather games are meaningful in 2026.
But after that long-winded digression here is my question. What do the Giants do with my money if I lose a game because one is played abroad. I have already been billed and will have paid long before the schedule is announced.
Ed says: Douglas, there is no formal league policy on this that I can find. The Los Angeles Chargers have been sued for not refunding season ticket holders for a 2025 home game played in Brazil. The Colts refunded season ticket holders for a 2025 game in Germany.
If the Giants find themselves in this circumstance I will make an effort to find out their plan.
Bob Donnelly asks: John Harbaugh believes the Giants roster has many of the pieces needed to compete for a playoff spot in 2026. His stated objective is building a physical, disciplined, and tough team designed to contend for championships and dominate the NFC East.
Over the past several weeks there have been numerous opinions shared on which starting positions of the roster need improvement. CB, S, ILB, DT, LG, C, RG, RT, TE, WR, K, P have all been nominated for upgrade, with a few, like S, C, RT being limited to specific scenarios.
Obviously there’s a limit to how much change can be made in a single off season. Which positions do you think our new HC will target to align the roster with his vision?
Ed says: Bob, I think the answer to that is that Harbaugh will target the types of players he wants. The positions might be less important. I do think the front seven on defense, the offensive line aside from left tackle, cornerback, wide receiver are all in play. Again, though, it is going to be about bringing in the kind of people he wants and not just about “well, this guy plays cornerback.”
Jeffrey Jacobs asks: My question today is about league-wide hiring practices, so I’m not sure you’ll have an answer. Anyway, here goes. We often see head coaches – at least white ones – on a carousel, in that they are often recycled and get another opportunity as an HC (often after taking a step back to coordinator or position coach). However, the same does not seem to hold true for general managers. It seems as though those guys get one shot and after they get fired they either disappear (like Jerry Reese) or go back to scouting or some other non-descript front office position. Do you have any thoughts on why this? It seems to me that the success or failure of the team is – or should be – equally distributed between HC & GM, and yet the GM is the one who pays a higher price for that lack of success. Any thoughts on this?
Ed says: Jeffrey, the reality is the GM is generally looked at as the guy who picked the players. So, if the team is bad and the roster is bad then the GM must be bad. If Joe Schoen had gotten fired this offseason do you think there is an NFL owner out there who would be able to sell to his fan base that Schoen was the guy to build their team? Probably not. I think it’s easier to sell a coach who didn’t succeed in his first stop. You can point to circumstance. Guess who gets at least some of the blame for creating that circumstance? The GM.
Now, a GM who has had success might be different. Those guys, though, generally keep their jobs for extended periods of time.
Here is more on this topic.
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