Joe Schoen has emerged from a trying first four years as the New York Giants general manager with a renewed commitment to working together to turn things around.
The Giants are signing the GM to a multiyear contract extension, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Thursday. New York announced the agreement shortly thereafter.
Schoen has gone 22-45-1 leading New York's front office, with a lone playoff trip during his first year in charge. Despite the lopsided record, the team elected to stick with Schoen following a 4-13 2025 campaign that saw head coach Brian Daboll fired after 10 games.
While Daboll moved on as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, Schoen stayed put, leading the search for New York's new head coach, John Harbaugh.
There was some buzz over Schoen's exact place in the organization after Harbaugh's hiring, as landing the Super Bowl-winning head coach also came with a new reporting structure. Unlike past years, Harbaugh will report directly to ownership rather than Schoen, providing him a bit more autonomy and a stronger voice.
Still, New York's goal is for Schoen and Harbaugh to work collaboratively to rebuild the Giants after reaching the playoffs just twice in the past 14 seasons since last winning a Super Bowl. The extension enables Schoen to do so with some added security.
Garafolo added that Schoen was the only person on the plane that picked Harbaugh up the day the coach visited the Giants' facility during the hiring process, and that the two got along well during free agency and the draft. There's chemistry amid their working relationship that can aid the Giants in their turnaround.
Plus, while Schoen was largely lambasted for letting Saquon Barkley walk ahead of his 2024 Offensive Player of the Year campaign for the rival Philadelphia Eagles, who further twisted the knife by winning the Super Bowl that season, he correctly diagnosed that a team so far from competing likely wouldn't benefit from giving a running back a large second contract.
Schoen has also provided the Giants with talent through myriad avenues despite it not yet translating to the win column. He drafted quarterback of the future Jaxson Dart and superstar wide receiver Malik Nabers. He also compiled a fierce pass-rushing room by selecting Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter and trading for last year's team leader with 16.5 sacks, Brian Burns. In April, Schoen and Harbaugh traded Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in the draft, and less than a week later used their two top-10 picks on linebacker Arvell Reese and offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.
It was a shrewd move shipping away Lawrence, who was likely to be too pricy, in order to kickstart the Harbaugh refresh.
Now with an extension, Schoen can continue working with Harbaugh on identifying the next steps in getting Big Blue back to contender status.