Anthony Rivardo
I do not think Joe Schoen earned this extension. But, with that being said, I’m not too upset about it either.
Saying the extension is undeserved might sound harsh after the NY Giants made it official, but the record is the record. 22-45-1 since Schoen took over. There has been too much losing, too many roster misreads, and too many important decisions that have aged poorly.
The Daniel Jones extension was a massive mistake. Evan Neal never became the right tackle the Giants drafted him to be. Deonte Banks has not lived up to first-round expectations. The free-agency classes have been inconsistent enough that it is hard to give Schoen a clean pass.
So no, I do not think his first four years justified a comfortable multi-year extension. But, despite his title, this isn’t Joe Schoen’s regime anymore; this is John Harbaugh’s regime. And if this is Harbaugh’s decision, then I think we should reserve judgment.
Joe Schoen’s Giants record is impossible to ignore
The Giants announced on May 21 that they agreed to a multi-year extension with Schoen. The Giants have gone 22-45-1 under Schoen with one playoff trip. That includes the 9-7-1 start in 2022, followed by 6-11 in 2023, 3-14 in 2024, and 4-13 in 2025. That is not a small sample anymore.
The Giants won a playoff game in Schoen’s first year, and that bought him time. Since then, the team has spent three straight seasons looking like one of the least stable operations in the league.
One winning season, then three straight losing seasons. No amount of optimism around the current roster should erase that. Schoen has made devastating mistakes while building this roster and, by all accounts, is not viewed highly by the players in the locker room. He earned a D+ on the NFLPA’s annual report card in 2025, ranking dead last among all general managers in the NFL.
So why are the Giants extending Schoen? John Harbaugh.
John Harbaugh is the man in charge
The extension is not happening in the same old power structure. This is where the decision becomes easier to live with.
Schoen lost internal influence when John Harbaugh arrived. The coach and general manager now separately report to ownership. Harbaugh reports directly to ownership rather than Schoen, giving the new head coach more autonomy and a stronger voice.
Harbaugh has final say over roster decisions. He is the one steering the ship. This is his team and his regime now; Schoen is there to support him, rather than dictate to him.
If this were still the old setup, with Schoen clearly sitting above the head coach and running the football operation, I would have a much harder time accepting the move. But Harbaugh changes the equation.
The Giants did not just extend the same general manager and hope for a different result. They reshaped the building around a head coach with real authority.
Schoen deserves credit for the Harbaugh pursuit
Schoen also deserves real credit for helping get Harbaugh in the building. According to Ian O’Connor of The Athletic, Schoen played a critical role in hiring Harbaugh this offseason.
“Long way to go, but Schoen has been a relentless, John Calipari-level recruiter on this one, which likely speaks to his willingness to work with JH on the roster,” O’Connor reported on X in January.
Schoen easily could have gotten defensive. He could have resisted a coach who wanted a different reporting structure and more authority. Instead, he adapted, recruited, and helped land the one coach who could instantly change the temperature around the franchise.
The Giants’ Harbaugh pursuit was a coordinated plan in which Schoen helped run point for ownership. While that doesn’t erase his mistakes, it does earn him some credit.
The last two draft classes help his case
The roster is also in a better place now than it was a year ago. Malik Nabers looks like a true No. 1 receiver, Jaxson Dart looks like a franchise quarterback, Abdul Carter has the potential to be an elite edge rusher, Cam Skattebo added the kind of identity the offense had been missing, and the Giants have gotten much better early returns out of their Day 2 and Day 3 draft picks from the 2024 and 2025 classes, as opposed to the 2022 and 2023 classes.
The 2026 class brought Francis Mauigoa, Colton Hood, Arvell Reese, Malachi Fields, and more young talent into the building — a promising group and seemingly a third-consecutive strong class for Schoen.
Those draft classes have helped change the future of the roster.
Plus, the Giants’ breakout star last season was EDGE Brian Burns, who posted a career-high 16.5 sacks. Arguably Schoen’s best move of his GM tenure thus far was trading for Burns.
The roster’s improved youth is the fairest argument in favor of Schoen. He had a laundry list of misses through his first two offseasons in the big chair, but the recent drafts look far more aligned with what the Giants want to become under Harbaugh.
If those players develop, Schoen’s second act will start to look a lot better than his first. It’s one thing to draft good prospects; they need to develop. The 2022 and 2023 draft classes looked like home runs, too. But there is optimism that a new coaching staff, led by John Harbaugh, will actually be able to develop the young talent.
I can live with it because Harbaugh can live with it
That is where I land. I still would not say Schoen earned this extension based on the full body of work. The losing has been too heavy. The Jones contract was too damaging. The early draft misses were too costly.
But if Harbaugh believes Schoen is the right roster-building partner for him, that carries weight.
Harbaugh has the final say now in every way that matters. He has the authority, the resume, and the organizational pull. If he is comfortable moving forward with Schoen, then Giants fans can at least trust that this is not just ownership pledging blind loyalty to a struggling general manager.
It is a new structure. Schoen still has to keep improving. He still has to prove the recent draft success is sustainable. He still has to show he can operate better with Harbaugh guiding the football vision.
I do not love the extension. But with Harbaugh steering the direction of the franchise, I can live with it.
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