Kölnerbigblue asks: Ed, if the Giants move on from Joe Schoen, is there any benefit to doing it later rather than sooner? Would we be permitted to talk to Assistant GMs during the season?
Ed says: Kolner, not really. As with coaches, the Giants could not talk to anyone who currently has a job with another team. When they fired Jerry Reese near the end of the 2017 season, the only candidates they spoke with were Dave Gettleman and Louis Riddick. Neither was working for an NFL team at the time.
Bob Donnelly
asks: In your Kudos & Wet Willies summary of Sunday’s game against the Commanders you wrote:
“Game day roster management always seems to be a problem with the Giants. Kafka doesn’t seem to be immune.”
I suspect few if any of my fellow BBV readers would disagree with that statement.
What can you tell us about how the Giants go about making the weekly roster decisions and who is ultimately responsible for the game day roster?
Ed says: Bob, what I know is that the Giants don’t finalize these decisions until after their final practice of the week. They meet as a staff to discuss their needs, players available, players they are not certain about, etc. I believe the front office is involved in those meetings.
These decisions are not easy. A team only gets two practice squad elevations each week, and a player can only be elevated three times before he has to be added to the 53-man roster.
This past week, the Giants needed an elevation for punter Cameron Johnston with Jamie Gillan injured. They had to choose between an elevation for defensive tackle Elijah Chatman with Rakeem Nunez-Roches out and one for a return man with Gunner Olszewski still in the concussion protocol.
Personally, I would have chosen to elevate Ihmir Smith-Marsette to return punts and kickoffs. The Giants made the opposite choice. I don’t know the medical reports, but I also might have gone ahead and placed one of Nunez-Roches, Gillan, or Kayvon Thibodeaux on IR to open up some roster flexibility to make sure I had a real return man available.
The thing that I don’t understand is why the Giants seem to get burned over and over by refusing to place injured players on short-term IR. Paulson Adebo used up a roster spot for five games when he could have been on IR. Thibodeaux has now missed four games. Injured reserve requires missing a minimum of four games. Placing those players on IR would have increased the team’s roster flexibility. I don’t know why they keep making this mistake over and over. Just put the player on IR and stop handicapping yourself.
Pat Lam asks: I was wondering which current NY Giants coaches you would try to keep. I’m hoping that Andre Patterson and Carmen Bricillo somehow stay.
Ed says: Pat, Bricillo has done good work with the offensive line. Patterson has long been one of the best, most respected defensive line coaches in the league. I would hope whoever the new coach is will at least speak to them to see if there is a match. With the right head coach, I wouldn’t object to Mike Kafka staying as offensive coordinator. I would, though, fully understand if Kafka did not want to do that.
Jack MacMullen asks: There seems to be a difference in opinion on the search for the new head coach. Most opinions/articles prefer a previous coach with a winning history/leader of men approach, while the oddsmakers always have a few of the hot coordinators high on their lists.
Based on recent Giants history results, how concerned would you be if the next coach was the up and coming coordinator?
Ed says: Jack, personally I would like a guy who has been a successful head coach somewhere. In reality, I am not sure that matters.
What matters is whether or not whoever the coach is can lead men, set standards, hold players accountable, hire quality assistants, let them do their jobs, and work productively with the front office to build the best possible roster.
David Gray asks: Why hasn’t Robert Saleh’s name been brought up as a candidate for head coach?
I know his overall record with Jets was not good, but he was 7-10 in each of his last two years as head coach (the last 7-10 season with Zach Wilson starting 11 games at quarterback and Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle also starting) and was fired after starting 2-3 in 2024. As head coach, the Jets defense excelled with Saleh: from 2022-23, the Jets ranked first in passing yards allowed per game (178.9) and opponent yards per play (4.7), second in total defense (301.7) and sixth in opponent yards per rush (4.1). Over those two seasons, the Jets defense also tallied 93 sacks and 29 interceptions, tied for the eighth and 10th-most, respectively, in the NFL.
And despite all of the injuries, he has the Niners defense 8th in points this season.
Ed says: David, I have seen Saleh’s name mentioned a few times. Never, though, have I seen or heard any national insider say he was a leading candidate.
Saleh was a terrible head coach with the New York Jets, part of a regime that basically stepped aside and turned over control of the franchise to Aaron Rodgers. Would I be surprised if he got an interview? No. I would be shocked if he got the job.
What about his Jets’ tenure makes you believe he can be a head coach? More specifically, that he can be a good head coach in New York?
Jason Robbins asks: To me, after McAdoo, Judge, and Daboll (I don’t count Shurmur as he was a last resort and brought in more as an “adult in the room” after the McAdoo disaster, I truly believe the two most important factors should be prior head coaching experience and a history of winning.
To me, barring Tomlin or Jim Harbaugh becoming available, the best candidate available is Brian Flores. Is there a chance he’d drop the Giants from his lawsuit in order to be the Giants head coach?
Ed says: Jason, I don’t think Flores is a legitimate candidate. Giants ownership was deeply hurt by Flores’ allegations. While I think Flores might have a lot of the characteristics the Giants should be looking for in a new head coach, I think what transpired in 2022 has made it almost impossible for the sides to mend fences.
The shame of that is that I fully believe Flores was a legitimate candidate in 2022, and that had John Mara not been determined to allow Joe Schoen to get the coach he wanted that Flores could well have ended up with the job.
Tom Pietrzak asks: Which Giants players and coaches, current or former, come to mind when you hear the word ‘leader,’ and why? Thanks!
Ed says: Tom, the name that leaps to mind when I think about this is Harry Carson. The picture of Carson standing alone at midfield facing five Denver Broncos captains before the 1987 Super Bowl remains etched in my mind.
When I interviewed former Giants cornerback Perry Williams, part of two Super Bowl-winning Giants team, recently for the Big Blue View YouTube channel, Williams spoke glowingly of Carson:
“Great, great player. Great leader,” Williams said. “What is leadership? [A] person who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way.
“He led by example. He worked hard, tough as nails, never gave up, never gave excuses.
“True champion. He really was … Gave it up for everybody. Everybody was a part of the team.”
If you read Gary Myers’ fantastic book ‘Once a Giant’, you also know that Carson’s leadership did not stop when his playing days ended. He has continued to look out for former teammates in need for decades.
Doug Mollin asks: How would you prioritize the Giants free agents in terms of who to bring back and who to let walk?
I’ll give you two easy “let walk” options … Wilson and Neal.
But I could make the case for bringing back all these guys (at the right price of course): Elu, Van Roten (depth, not starting), WanDale, Flott, Bellinger, McFadden, Belton, Gunner.
Problem of course is … do you really want to run it back with the same 2 win team?
Ed says: Doug, I will go through all of this in depth once the season is officially over. Here, I will just briefly go over the players you mentioned.
- Jermaine Eluemunor — Bring back. Unless you are 100% convinced Marcus Mbow can be a good right tackle, letting him go makes no sense. Sure you could use your first-round pick on a replacement, but why? Isn’t signing a guy you already know is good and adding a player at another position in the draft the better play?
- Greg Van Roten — Honestly, it’s time to move on.
- Wan’Dale Robinson — Bring back. A must-sign for me to help Jaxson Dart. The price tag is going to be more than the Giants probably want to pay, but they have to stop letting good players walk away and succeed elsewhere while getting nothing in return.
- Cor’Dale Flott — Bring back. The same story as Robinson. He is a good player who will still be just 25 next season.
- Daniel Bellinger — I like Bellinger. I don’t think the Giants have made enough use of him. I would like to see him come back. I think, though, Bellinger is going to find a better opportuniity and a bigger paycheck somewhere else.
- Micah McFadden — On a one-year “prove-it” deal following his injury, I would be happy to see him return.
- Dane Belton — If the price is right on a one- or two-year deal, fine.
- Gunner Olszewski — Are you serious with that one? I don’t know how or why he is on the 2025 roster in the first place. The better, more explosive kickoff and punt returner — Ihmir Smith-Marsette — has been sitting on the practice squad all year. I honestly don’t have a clue why.
Jason LaBombard asks: Ok, settle an argument between a good friend and I, or at least throw your hat in the ring. Let’s say the Giants tried to trade Carter this offseason; I don’t care if they would or not it’s been bleak lately and this is just a game. Let’s just say they WOULD, what do you think they could get for him? I say a contender that usually lives in the bottom part of the first would give their one; he doesn’t agree.
Ed says: Jason, I am not sure I can settle this one.
There are very few examples in recent times of teams trading their first-round pick just one year after selecting him. I can’t find any recent examples of a team doing so and getting a first-round pick in return.
The Miami Dolphins in 2019 traded first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick two games into his second season for Jalen Ramsey, another former first-round pick still on a rookie contract, and some other. The Arizona Cardinals traded quarterback Josh Rose, their No. 10 overall pick in 2018, the following year after selecting Kyler Murray No. 1 overall. Rosen netted a second- and fifth-round pick.
Does that mean a good team drafting at the bottom of Round 1 would never give up it’s first-round pick for Carter? No. I just can’t find any examples of that ever having happened.
Kevin Kuchinsky asks: When I see all of these coaching lists, I see Spags and Anumaro coming up all the time. Both are older DC types. Is there any reason Vic Fangio doesn’t get mentioned? Has he said he isn’t interested in taking another stab as a HC? I think he got a pretty raw deal as HC in Denver (No QBs, front office turnover, Covid). He could clearly upgrade our Defense (and as an added bonus, it would downgrade Philly’s Defense). It seems odd to me that with what he has done post-Broncos HC that he hasn’t gotten more HC mentions. I know he’s older, but he and Spags are basically the same age.
Ed says: Kevin, Fangio has said he is not interested in being a head coach again. He may simply be happy finishing his coaching career at home, since his Dunmore, Pennsylvania home town is just a couple of hours from Philly.
Brian Misdom asks: There was a recent article from Bill Barnwell (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47324625/ranking-nfl-head-coach-potential-openings-2026-season-best-worst-jobs) that ranked prospective head coach openings, with the Giants coming in at 5 – behind the Bengals, Cardinals, Browns and Titans.
We’ve generally assumed the Giants would be the most or one of the most desirable jobs given the presence of Dart and other key players.
His take is a bit pessimistic in my opinion but are we deluding ourselves into how desirable this job really is? Do you think it becomes more or less appealing if Schoen is let go?
Ed says: Brian, I don’t think anyone is delusional to believe the Giants job is a good one. It is New York, which comes with challenges but is a great place to win. There is a young quarterback on a rookie contract. There are some good players. There is stable ownership.
The Joe Schoen part of that is impossible to answer. First-time head coaches probably won’t care. A veteran guy like Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh might, if one or both is available.
Ronald Buchheim asks: Ed, I just watched a video of the route that Hyatt ran before the interception by Washington. Totally rounded at the break, with no attempt to make a sharp, sudden cut. It’s hard to believe that a professional in his third season still has no clue about the most basic principle of route running, which he should have learned in his first week of rookie training camp. Haven’t the coaches tried to teach him the right way? Do you think he is stubborn or unable to grasp this simple concept? If so, do you think he is hopeless and should be released, despite the speed he displayed in tackling the interceptor after he fell down and got back up? Could the Giants use his speed in another position, as they did with Banks?
Ed says: Ronald, Hyatt has had the same receivers coach — Mike Groh — for three years. He is a veteran coach who has been highly praised for his work in other places. Sometimes, you can practice until you are blue in the face and guys just can’t translate what they are being taught into action on game day. Sometimes, if guys don’t think the ball is coming they don’t pay attention to the little details. I don’t know the exact deal with Hyatt.
Another position? Like what? They have dabbled with him as a returner and it just doesn’t seem to be something he is good at.
Daniel Nugent asks: I know Joe Schoen has definitely not been perfect but looking back at his drafts since he took over, a lot of analysts or “experts” actually praised his picks including the Evan Neal and Deonte Banks picks and gave him good overall draft grades. Now a lot of the same people are bashing those same picks. Are we putting too much of the failures at his feet? To me it seems like a lot of these players who many thought were great picks have not been probably developed. Do you feel like maybe the talent is not the issue but the coaching was?
Ed says: Daniel, that is the question. How much has been about coaching, and how much has been about talent evaluation? How do players like Deonte Banks, Jalin Hyatt, Dru Phillips regress from their rookie years? How does a player like Paulson Adebo look nothing like the ball magnet he was the last couple of years in New Orleans?
In letting Brian Daboll go, ownership indicated it though the primary issue was coaching. We will see.
Daniel Prager asks: I’m one of the rare few on the fence about Joe Schoen, specifically his drafting ability. To me, whether ownership should keep or dump him should be based on 3 players: Tyler Nubin, Dru Phillips, and Tae Banks.
They are the nature/nurture debate of the Giants. All three had good first years and seem to have fallen off a cliff since. So the question is, who is to blame and can it be reversed? If Nubin and Phillips end up as solid NFL players, Schoen critics would have to admit his last 2 draft classes will have been stellar. If Banks, like Jones before him, ends up better elsewhere, it will be another example of a talented player not living up to their potential here. BUT, If year one for all 3 was a fluke or we overhyped them, then Schoen’s draft misses far outweigh his hits, and the thoughts that he lucked into Nabers and Daboll picked Dart ring more true.
This is something we and owners won’t know for sure for several years, but do you get the sense that staff leans one way or the other on these players’ talent levels? And how do the beat reporters feel about these players?
Ed says: Daniel, I think the decision about Schoen comes down to far more than the three players you mentioned.
It comes down to an honest evaluation of the totality of Schoen’s four years. Are the Giants in a better place than they were when Schoen was hired? Is the talent better? Is the roster heading in the right direction? Does the front office function better? How good is Schoen’s scouting staff? Is the communication with ownership what John Mara and Steve Tisch want? Do they believe Schoen is the right guy to work with a new head coach despite the fact that their timelines will be mis-aligned?
Paul Hinlicky asks: Thinking about the Giants’ porous run defense and watching last night the LA-Seattle game and seeing the performance there of Leonard Williams, I got to thinking that Giants’ run defense has degenerated since that trade. I don’t remember anymore what we got for Leonard Williams and whether it was in any way worth it. I’d like your opinion on that, also, whether there are circumstances involved of which I am unaware of or have forgotten. On the flipside, I’m wondering what you think of Darius Alexander and his potential development alongside Dexter Lawrence (or any other of our younger linemen), particularly in connection with run defense.
Ed says: Paul, I don’t think the Giants expected Leonard Williams to continue playing at the level he has the past couple of years. I certainly did not.
As for the trade, the biggest reason the Giants made the trade is that Williams was heading to free agency and was going to command a massive contract. The Giants did not think paying him $64 million over three years, which the Seahawks did, was smart business. At the time, I agreed.
On paper, they got a second-round pick (Tyler Nubin) and fifth-round pick (Marcus Mbow) for Williams. They also used the money they would have spent on Williams to make the Brian Burns trade. So, would you want Williams, or the trio of Burns, Nubin, Mbow? I will take the latter, especially since Burns is four years younger.
The problem is that the Giants have not adequately filled the hole on the defensive line left by Williams. Alexander might be the answer one day, but he isn’t yet.
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